


Stay

by thotiny



Category: ATEEZ (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, M/M, Mentioned Other K-pop Artist(s), yeosang has visions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-17
Updated: 2020-06-21
Packaged: 2021-03-04 06:08:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 18,622
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24778900
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thotiny/pseuds/thotiny
Summary: In which Yeosang has a vision of someone named Choi Jongho dying, and decides to warn him before it’s too late.
Relationships: Choi Jongho/Kang Yeosang
Comments: 2
Kudos: 33





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> so i may or may not have copied some things from supernatural, but it’s a good show. anyway, enjoy <3
> 
> also, there’s going to be a torturing scene, so if you’re uncomfortable with that there’s going to be a ** when it starts and ends. just to warn you, though, that part is important.

Kang Yeosang first started having visions back when he was ten. He didn’t know why they appeared, but they did. They started the night of his tenth birthday. He was sleeping, exhausted from his birthday party his parents held, and, as he was sleeping, he suddenly woke up in a cold sweat. 

“What the heck was that dream?” he had muttered to himself. But he felt it in his gut that what he just ‘dreamt’ about _wasn’t_ just a dream.

The next morning during breakfast, all he could think about was the three girls he had ‘dreamt’ about. They were on a camping trip, and one of the girls had gone out to go find more wood, since they were making a fire, and her friends stayed back. But the more they waited, the longer they grew nervous. Their friend hadn’t returned, and it’s been over ten minutes.

“Maybe we should go look for her,” the first girl suggested, looking at her friend. “She’s been gone for a long time.”

“She’ll come back,” she assured, but she didn’t sound so sure. They continued waiting, and a minute later, they heard a scream that sounded a lot like their friend’s. They started growing scared, but not long after, they had been attacked, too. 

“Yeosang, honey, you okay?” his mom asked, looking at him in concern.

“I-I’m fine, mom,” he lied, giving her a fake smile. Yeosang didn’t want to worry her about something so stupid. But the visions continued. Every single night. They woke him up every night, and sometimes he didn’t even sleep. His parents once took him to the doctor, but Yeosang refused to tell the doctor anything, knowing the doctor would probably believe he was crazy, and send him to a mental institute. When Yeosang was eleven, his parents died. His mom had just given birth around six months ago, and one night she had gone to check on his newborn sister, but Yeosang’s mother ended up being pinned to the ceiling, burned to death. Yeosang’s father died trying to save her. 

Yeosang and his sister were then separated, since they were underage, and didn’t have any relatives that could take them in. He ended staying at some weird man’s place, and the man creeped him out, so when Yeosang was twelve, he snuck away. He spent the next four years by himself until he reunited with his sister again. They started being with each other again and were inseparable.

Now Yeosang’s seventeen, whilst his sister is six. They had run into one of their parents’ old friends, and he offered to take them in, but they both refused, thanking him. 

“What do you want to eat, Byeol?” Yeosang asks, as he walks out of the bathroom, his blonde hair damp, and changed into a pair of fresh (kinda) new clothes.

“I don’t really mind, Yeosangie,” his sister replies cutely. “As long as it’s food, I’m okay with it.”

“Hmm, okay.” Yeosang smiles at his sister, thinking she's really mature for her age. She never really complained about anything. If she did, she would just move on, and forget about it. Yeosang's just glad his sister isn’t bratty.

“Oppa?” Byeol speaks up, looking at her brother with curiosity in her eyes.

“Yes?”

“Are you still having your nightmares?” Byeol asks.

Yeosang looks at his sister in surprise. “W-what do you mean?”

“I know you’re having nightmares, Oppa,” Byeol basically deadpans. “I’m not a dumb-dumb. Are you still having them?”

“No,” Yeosang lies. He doesn’t want to worry Byeol’s small head with his visions. It already stresses him out enough. He doesn’t want his little sister to be stressed out, too.

“Are you sure?” she question. “Mommy and Daddy said it isn’t good to lie.”

“H-how do you know that?”

“You’ve told me before,” Byeol reminds. “Are you lying to me, Oppa?”

“I’m not,” he replies, giving her a small smile. “Well, come on, let’s go get something to eat before it turns dark.” Yeosang grabs their coats, extending out his hand, so Byeol can put her small one in it. The little girl does, putting on her coat with Yeosang’s help, and the two walk out of their hotel room, heading toward the nearest diner.

\--

That night, around eleven twenty-five, Byeol is already sound asleep, breathing in and out peacefully. Yeosang is asleep, too, but his eyes keep narrowing, and he keeps twisting around in his bed, letting out small whines of protest. He's having another vision.

_The brown-haired male got out of his car, closing the door behind him. He didn’t lock it or anything, since there was no one else around here, and headed toward the front door of the building in front of him. He quietly opened the door, looking around him, before stepping inside, closing the door behind him._

_“Hello?” he called out, starting to walk somewhere._

_The brunette didn’t receive a response, so he kept walking. He soon arrived in the kitchen. There were a few plates in the sink, but besides that, the kitchen was empty. The brunette let out a huff, crossing his arms._

_“I thought Hongjoong-hyung said she’d be here,” he muttered to himself, a small frown forming itself on his face. He walked out of the kitchen, heading toward another room. He arrived in what seemed to be one of the bedrooms. But once he stepped inside the room, he stopped in his tracks. There was blood everywhere: on the floor, bed, ceiling. The brunette sniffed, scrunching his nose once he got the scent of sulfur._

_“We’ve been waiting for you, Choi Jongho,” a voice behind him said, and the brunette turned around quickly, locking eyes with a raven-haired female._

_‘Jongho’ narrowed his eyes at her. “Chaeyoung.”_

_“Hey,” she greeted smugly, walking inside the room, stepping over the pools of blood._

_“Who did you kill?” Jongho demanded. “I thought we had an agreement.”_

_“We did,” ‘Chaeyoung’ agreed, “until you decided to sell out my name to those angels.”_

_“No-”_

_“I know you did, Choi,” Chaeyoung snapped. “Now it’s time for a little payback.” She started walking closer toward Jongho, but he got out a flask from his pocket, quickly opened it, and threw some water to Chaeyoung. She started sizzling, vapor forming around her. She let out a scream, and Jongho took the chance to run._

_“You’re not going to get that far!” he heard Chaeyoung call from behind him._

_Jongho ran toward the front door, about to open it when he suddenly felt something hit his shoulder. He looked at it, seeing an arrow dug into his skin. He started feeling weak, but, before he passed out, he saw Chaeyoung looking down at him with her brown eyes turning completely black._

_\--_

_When Jongho woke up, he was tied to a chair, his hands tied behind it. He was alone in a dark cold room, but he knew Chaeyoung was going to be here soon. He was quick to start untying himself from the ropes, but that’s when someone walked into the room. That ‘someone’ turned out to be Chaeyoung._

_“Going somewhere?” she asked, placing down a cloth that held rows of different types of knives._

_“What are you going to do?” Jongho taunted, ignoring Chaeyoung’s question. “Torture the answer out of me? I’m keeping my mouth shut, Park.”_

_“Oh, I knew you are,” she smirked, grabbing a knife. “I don’t really care, though. I’m just going to torture you to death.”_

_“Just because I sold out your name?” Jongho scoffed, looking at the demon in disbelief. “Get over it, Chaeyoung.”_

_“I’ll get it over it once you’re dead,” she said, before dragging the knife all along Jongho’s right arm. Blood started oozing out of the wound, and he gritted his teeth in pain. He’s dealt with worse. But the next hour was just full torture. Chaeyoung tortured Jongho really slowly as if they had all the time in the world. Jongho had blood running down his body from everywhere, and he felt drained. Chaeyoung was keeping some of his blood for something he didn’t know about._

_“I-if you’re going to kill me, j-just kill me already,” Jongho said, panting lightly. “No point in stalling.”_

_“You’re right,” Chaeyoung agreed, “but I like torturing you. It’s…fun.”_

_Not long after, Jongho was dead with how much blood he had lost. But the last thing that came out of his mouth was a horrifying scream._

Yeosang wakes up with a start, drenched in sweat. He quickly looks toward Byeol, seeing her still sleeping. He lets out a sigh of relief, lying back down on his pillow. He knows he can’t go back to sleep, so he isn’t going to try. _If that Choi Jongho guy_ is _going to die, I’m going to need to warn him. And quick, before it’s too late._

\--

Yeosang knows that guy _was_ going to die—his visions always come out true. So that’s why he’s currently at a nearby library with Byeol at their parents’ old friend’s place. Yeosang had to assure her three times, and promise her that he’d buy her ice cream for her to agree to stay over there. Right now he's staring at the cursor that is blinking back at him. He lets out a sigh and types _choi jongho_ in the search bar.

A lot of links pop up, and Yeosang goes to the images. He's surprised the first image is a mugshot of Jongho. Confused, Yeosang clicks on it and the caption reads: _Fifteen-year-old Choi Jongho arrested for murder in Shreveport, Louisiana._

_He’s murdered someone at fifteen?!?!_ Yeosang iis a bit surprised, to say the least. He continues finding information about Jongho, finding out that his mother was pinned to the ceiling on his sixth month birthday, and was burned to death…just like Yeosang’s mother. The blonde shakes his head, exiting the tab. _That can’t be. We’re probably not even connected at all. Focus on finding him, Yeosang._

The blonde soon finds where he can find Jongho around five minutes later. He's at the same motel as Yeosang, thankfully, and Yeosang is quick to log out, turn off the computer, and dash out of the library. He quickly runs back toward the motel. What if it's already too late, and that Jongho guy is already dead? _Think positively, Yeosang_ , he scolds himself. He soon arrives at the motel a few minutes later and searches for a black Impala ‘67 in the parking lot. He thankfully finds it and knows the guy is here. Yeosang rushes to find room three hundred nine, and once he's in front of it, he knocks on the door. A few seconds later, a handsome brown-haired male opens the door, looking at Yeosang in confusion.

“Who are you?” Jongho demands.

Yeosang gives the male a small nervous smile. “U-um, hi. A-are you Choi Jongho?”

“Who’s asking?”

“I’m Kang Yeosang,” he quickly introduces himself, “and I need to talk to you. It’s urgent.” Jongho narrows his eyes at Yeosang, but soon lets the blonde inside, closing the door behind him. “Thank you,” he says. “Anyway, I’ll get straight to the point. You’re going to die soon, Jongho.”

“Who did you say you were again?” he asks.

“K-Kang Yeosang.”

“Kang Yeosang,” Jongho mutters to himself, walking toward his duffel bag. “I’ve heard that name before…” Yeosang raises an eyebrow at Jongho, but the male doesn’t pay attention to him. He gets out a leather kind of worn-out journal from his bag, flipping through it, whilst muttering Yeosang’s name under his breath. He soon reaches a certain page in his journal and looks up at Yeosang. “Do you get visions, Yeosang?”

“I do,” he admits. “But…why are you asking?”

“Did your mother burn to death on your sixth month birthday?” Jongho continues, ignoring Yeosang’s question.

“No...but she did on my sister’s sixth month birthday,” he replies. “W-why are you asking all this?”

“Then you’re right,” Jongho says, ignoring Yeosang’s question again. “I _am_ going to die soon. Did you see who killed me?”  
  


“Uh…someone by the name ‘Park Chaeyoung’?”

“I knew it,” Jongho mutters. “Why are you warning me, though? Don’t you have better stuff to do?”

_Geez, this guy could at least say thank you for warning him_ , Yeosang thinks to himself. “I just wanted to warn you, so you’d be careful. Why? Is it wrong for me to warn you?”

“No, it’s fine,” Jongho answers. “Do you mind staying here for a bit? I just want you to explain how I die if you did see that.”

“I did,” Yeosang assures. He checks the clock on the wall; eleven thirty-seven a.m. He promised his parents’ old friend, Park Jimin, that he’d come to pick Byeol up around one. So he has an hour and twenty-three minutes. “I can stay, but only for an hour. I have to go pick my sister up.”

Jongho nods and invites Yeosang to sit down. The blonde does, sitting on the bed that nearer to the wall, whilst Jongho sits down on the other one. Yeosang starts explaining what he saw in his vision, and Jongho listens carefully, not saying a word. When Yeosang is done, he looks at Jongho, wanting to see what his reaction is, but Jongho doesn’t look surprised, scared, or anything like that. To Yeosang’s surprise, Jongho’s expression is neutral.

“Are…you okay?” Yeosang asks carefully, raising an eyebrow.

“Not really.” Jongho lets out a small shrug. “The demon, Chaeyoung, has been stalking me for months now because I have something she wants.”

“Why don’t you give it to her then?” Yeosang says. “That way you won’t have to die.”

“I don’t really care if I die, to be honest,” Jongho sighs. “All my life…I’ve had to kill monsters in order to save people. It feels nice to save people and all, but…I’ve lost people I cared about. My mom also died on my sixth month birthday. She was pinned to the ceiling, and was burned to death.”

“Mine, too…” Yeosang is surprised that Jongho’s mom died the same way as his. But that can only be a coincidence, right? “What about your dad? Do you have any siblings?”

“My dad is a hunter, too,” Jongho explains. “I haven’t seen him for the last four months. I try calling him every day, but that bastard never answers. I do have siblings—twins. But they both died the day after my mom died. My dad’s been trying to find the demon-”

“Demon?” Yeosang interrupts. “Why demon?”

“This yellow-eyed demon was the one that did this,” Jongho replies, clenching his jaw. “He disappeared long ago, but my dad’s trying to find him for revenge.”

“Revenge isn’t always the always the answer, though,” Yeosang says pointedly, but he doesn’t miss the way Jongho tenses up a bit.

“You’re right,” he surprisingly agrees. “It isn’t _always_ the answer, but it still can be.”

“I guess,” Yeosang mutters. “Do _you_ want to get revenge on this demon?”

“Yes,” Jongho replies with no hesitation. “That bastard killed my mom, and he deserves to die. My mom never did anything to die.”

Yeosang nods. “I do have one question, though.”

Jongho looks up to look Yeosang in the eye. “What?”

“What are you?” he asks. “H-how and why did you believe me so fast? Other people would’ve just laughed at me, or called me crazy. Why did you believe me?”

“I’m a hunter, remember?”

“Oh.” Yeosang feels dumb for not remembering. “So…you’re saying…all monsters are real?”

“Not all of them, but yes,” Jongho answers. “I’ve killed demons, ghosts, wendigos, shapeshifters, vampires. Anything you can think of, really. Though, bigfoot isn’t real. That’s just a myth.”

Yeosang nods. “O-okay.”

“You believe me?” Jongho looks a bit surprised. “You believe demons, ghosts, wendigos, shapeshifters, and vampires are real?”

“Well, yeah.” Yeosang nods. “I’ve seen people being killed by them in my visions, and they always turn out to be true, so yeah. I do believe you.”

Jongho nods this time. “Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it.” Yeosang gives Jongho a small smile, before looking at the clock; eleven fifty-eight. Shit, he's late. He quickly gets up, making Jongho look at him confused. 

“Where are you going?” Jongho asks.

“I-I need to pick up my sister,” Yeosang says. “I’m late. I need to leave. It was nice talking with you.”

Jongho nods. “Likewise. Thanks, by the way.”

“For what?” Yeosang asks.

“Warning me about my death,” Jongho says, letting out a dry chuckle. “I’ll try to be careful, but you should, too. You don’t know what’s lurking out there.”

At Jongho’s words, a shiver runs down Yeosang’s spine. “I-I’ll try to be careful, then. Bye, Jongho.”

“Bye,” he returns before Yeosang starts running away. Thankfully, Jimin only lives sixteen minutes away, so getting to his house won’t take long. 

As said, sixteen minutes later, Yeosang arrives at Jimin’s house. Panting, he walks toward the front door and rings the doorbell. The door opens a few seconds later, revealing the blue-haired male.

“Oh, hey, Yeosang,” he greets. 

“Hey,” Yeosang returns. “Sorry for being late.”

“It’s fine,” Jimin assures, inviting Yeosang inside. “Byeol and I were just watching some cartoons. You hungry? I think there’s some pizza leftover.”

“I’m fine. Thanks.” Yeosang closes the door behind him. “Where’s Byeol?”

“She’s in the bathroom,” Jimin replies.

Yeosang nods. “Was she too much of a hassle? I’m sorry if she was.”

“She wasn’t,” Jimin says. “Why are you so tensed up? Relax, Yeosang.”

_I’m trying to_ , he thinks to himself. They then hear the bathroom door open, Byeol walking into the living room where they both are. Once she sees Yeosang, her doe eyes light up, and she runs toward her brother, Yeosang catching her in his arms.

“Yeosangie!” she squeals, hugging him tightly. “I missed you!”

“I missed you, too, Byeol,” he returns. “Did you behave well?”

Byeol nods. “Yeah! Uncle Jimin even made me some pizza! It was good!”

“I’m glad.” Yeosang softly smiles, kissing her forehead. He then turns to look at Jimin. “Thanks again for taking care of her, Jimin. I owe you one.”

  
Jimin waves Yeosang off. “Don’t mention it. See you guys later. Be safe out there, alright? And always remember you can to me if you ever need something.”

Yeosang nods, opening the front door. “We will. Thanks again, hyung.”

Jimin nodw, waving at them, before Yeosang and Byeol leave. They start walking back toward their hotel in silence, until Byeol speaks up: “Where did you go, Yeosangie?”

“I went to visit an old friend,” he lies. Yeosang can’t really tell Byeol he was warning someone about their death.

“Are you sure?” she frowns. “I don’t like it when you lie to me, Yeosangie.”

“I’m not,” he lies again, even though it hurts to do so. “How about we get some ice cream, hmm? You deserve it after behaving well with Jimin-hyung.”

“Ice cream!” Byeol squeals.

\--

The next day, Yeosang finds himself and Byeol in a nearby diner where they’ve been eating breakfast, lunch, and dinner so far. Currently, they are in line, waiting for their turn, when the diner’s door opens, the little bell ringing. Yeosang doesn’t pay attention to who enters, and orders for him and Byeol when it's their turn. After paying, they sit down at an empty table. Yeosang sits in front of Byeol but gasps when he sees a familiar brown-haired male.

“Jongho?” Yeosang mutters to himself, the male ordering.

“Who’s that?” Byeol asks.

“N-no one,” Yeosang quickly lies, smiling nervously at her. “I’m just tired, Byeol.” He isn’t lying there.

“You can sleep right now,” she allows. “I’ll wake you up when the food’s here.”

“I’ll sleep when we get back to the hotel,” Yeosang assures, even though he's sure he isn’t going to. Soon their food comes, and they start eating. Occasionally, Yeosang looks up to look at Jongho, the brunette eating his food, whilst flipping through his journal. Around ten minutes later the doors open again, and a strawberry blonde-haired female wearing a white hoodie and black jeans ripped at the knee walks in. She skims the diner until her eyes land on something or someone. A smirk grows on her face, and she walks toward somewhere. Yeosang’s gaze follows her, and he's confused when she stops in front of Jongho’s table.

“Miss me, Jongho?” Yeosang hears the blonde ask, a bit jokingly.

At the voice, Jongho looks up, his eyes darkening and narrowing when he recognizes the strawberry blonde. “What are you doing here?”

“Can’t I visit you, my dear friend?” the blonde pouts, but it'as obvious it's fake. “I need to talk to you, Jongho. Alone.”

“I have nothing to talk to you about,” he mutters, going back to his journal.

“Now, or I’ll kill everyone in here,” the blonde warns, and Jongho glares up at her. With a huff, he gets up, grabbing his journal, and follows behind the blonde. It's probably Yeosang’s imagination, but he swears he saw the strawberry blonde’s eyes turn black for a second before they turn brown again.

“Yeosangie, I need to go to the bathroom,” Byeol whines, breaking the blonde out of his thoughts.

“L-let’s go, then,” he says, getting up, even though he wants to go after Jongho and the blonde. Yeosang and Byeol walk toward the bathroom, and when Byeol is done, they walk back outside. Yeosangias surprised to see Jongho sitting back at his table, and the strawberry blonde nowhere to be seen. _That’s weird. But_ _…wasn't that the blonde…the demon that kills him?_

\--

“I’m not handing you the colt, Chaeyoung,” Jongho scowls, as he and the strawberry blonde arrive outside.

“Why not?” she demands. “You don’t even need it. And if you’re saving it for the yellow-eyed demon then good luck, because he won’t appear.”

“How do you know that?” Jongho asks.

“I’m a demon,” Chaeyoung reminds. “Just give me the colt, and _maybe_ I won’t hurt you.”

Jongho scoffs. “Go to hell.”

“Already been there,” Chaeyoung smirks. “Wouldn’t recommend it. Now hand me the colt, and I’ll let you go.”

“I don’t have it,” Jongho mutters, leaning against the wall. “My father does.”

“Liar,” Chaeyoung accuses, glaring at Jongho. “I know you have it, Choi. Where is it?”

“Somewhere,” he replies.

Chaeyoung scowls, gripping Jongho’s collar. “I’m not playing around, Jongho. Tell me. Where. Is. The. Colt? I won’t repeat myself this time.”

“You really want to know?” 

  
“Yes.”

Jongho nods, sighing in defeat. He motiones with his fingers for Chaeyoung to come closer. She does, a bit confused. Jongho then whispers in her ear: “It’s…it’s…in my asshole.” Chaeyoung let sout a groan, pulling away. She punches Jongho straight across the face, and his face is turned to the side. He lets out a small smirk, stepping away. Chaeyoung moves to go after him, but after trying, she finds that she can’t. Jongho’s smirk turns bigger, and he heads back toward the diner. “Tell one of your friends to get you out of there,” he says, opening the door. “See you later, Chaeyoung.”

The blonde fumes. She's stuck in a demon trap. She should’ve known better. “Choi Jongho!!”

“Bye.” He gives her one last smirk, before walking back inside the diner.

\--

It doesn’t take long for Yeosang and Jongho to meet again. Yeosang and Byeol are at the grocery store to get some groceries, and ironically, Jongho happens to be there, too. They notice each other when they both reach for the same orange.

“Yeosang?” Jongho sounds a bit confused to see the blonde.

“Hey,” he greets. “Are you going to grab that orange?”

“You can get it,” Jongho allows. “Are you here alone?”

“No,” Yeosang replies. For some odd reason, he feels like he can trust Jongho. “I’m here with my sister.”

“Yeosangie, who’s this?” she asks, looking up at Jongho.

“This is my…” Yeosang doesn’t know what to call Jongho. Friend? Nah. They barely know each other. Yeosang doubts Jongho even knows his last name. Boyfriend? _Hell no._

“I’m your brother’s old friend, Choi Jongho,” he speaks up, smiling down at Byeol. “Aren’t you cute?”

Byeol smiles shyly and hides behind Yeosang’s leg.

“Byeol, be nice,” he tells her. “Say hi.”

“H-hi,” she quickly greets, before hiding behind Yeosang’s leg again.

The blonde lets out a chuckle, shaking his head. “I’m sorry about her. She gets shy easily.”

“It’s fine,” Jongho assures. “So have you been getting your…‘dreams’ lately?”

“Thankfully no,” Yeosang says, which is true. It's weird. He and Byeol have been in this small town for at least a week, and the last time Yeosang had a vision was when he had that vision about Jongho dying, and that was six days ago. “It’s weird. I always have at least one ‘dream’ each day, but the last one I had was six days ago.”

“That’s still good,” Jongho says pointedly. “That means no one’s dying yet soon.”

“Yeah,” Yeosang agrees, realizing Jongho is right. “So, you’re still alive. That ‘creature’ kill you yet?”

Jongho lets out a chuckle. “If we’re going to talk about that let’s do it somewhere private, or somewhere where your sister doesn’t have to hear.”

Yeosang looks down at Byeol, noticing the confusion in her eyes. He curses under his breath. He forgot she's here, too. “Right. Well, I’m sorry, but I don’t have any free time.”

“That’s fine,” Jongho says. “Well, I’ll see you two later. Bye.” Jongho waves at the two, waving down at Byeol, before leaving the two alone.

“Your friend is handsome,” she speaks up, surprising Yeosang. “Oppa, why isn’t he your boyfriend yet?”

Yeosang’s cheeks turn red. “Byeol! Y-you don’t say things like that in public.”

“Sorry,” she apologizes. “Oppa, do you like Jongho-Oppa?”

“I don’t know,” Yeosang admits, looking after the way Jongho had gone in. “But he is cute.” Sighing, Yeosang turns around again and starts putting oranges in his bag. He starts tying the bag when someone suddenly bumps into him, making him drop the bag.

“Oh my god!” a female voice exclaims. “I am so sorry!” The female immediately crouches down to start gathering the oranges, and Yeosang joins her when he snaps out of his shock. When they finish, the female hands the bag to Yeosang, who mutters a thank you. He looks up at her face, noticing she has raven hair, pale skin, protruding dark brown eyes, a straight nose, pink lips, and wearing a navy blue hoodie dress. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Yeosang replies. 

“I am so sorry,” the female apologizes again. “How about I make it up to you with some coffee? I feel really guilty.”

“Um...are you asking me out?” Yeosang asks hesitantly. “Because I’m not into girls.”

“Well if you’re not then we’re not going on a date,” the female says. “So, can I buy you that coffee?”

Yeosang looks down at Byeol, and she nods excitedly. Yeosang looks back at the raven-haired female, raising an eyebrow at her. “What’s your name?”

“Kim Jisoo,” she replies. “What’s _your_ name?”

“Yeosang,” he says. He never really did like giving strangers his last name, too.

Jisoo smiles. “Great. I’ll wait for you to buy everything you need. I’ll be outside.”

Yeosang nods, before Jisoo walks away. Once the raven-haired female is out of earshot and sight, Yeosang’s face turns into a frown, and he and Byeol walk toward another section.

“I don’t trust her,” he mutters under his breath.

“Why not?” Byeol seems to have heard him.

“I don’t know…” Yeosang replies truthfully. “Something just…feels fishy about her.”

When Yeosang is done buying groceries, he pays for them. He's a bit hesitant to go outside since that Jisoo girl is waiting for them, but he has no other choice. Sighing, he and Byeol walk outside, seeing Jisoo talking on the phone, leaning against the wall.

“That little bitch,” she's saying, scowling. “How dare he? First, he doesn’t want to give me that bloody colt, and now he sold my name to _Seokjin_?!” There was a pause before Jisoo speaks up again. “Of course I’m going to get my revenge. And I’m going to make sure it’s going to be good.” Another pause and Jisoo lets out a scoff a few seconds later. “No promises, Kim.”

Jisoo then hangs up, putting her phone away. Yeosang decides it's time that he and Byeol make themselves visible.

“Hey,” he greets, letting out a small smile. “Sorry if I took too long.”

“You didn’t,” Jisoo replies, smiling back, but Yeosang can tell it was fake. “Ready to go?”

Yeosang nods, and he and Byeol follow behind Jisoo.

\--

“Yeosang?” The male’s voice on the other line sounds confused. “Why are you calling? How’d you get my number?”

“H-hey, Jongho,” Yeosang says nervously, peeking through the blinds, before shutting them. “Can you come over?”

“Are you in trouble?” Jongho asks, worriedness laced in his tone, which surprises Yeosang.

“I don’t know…” he replies, biting his lower lip, “…but I think I might be soon.”

“I’ll be right there,” Jongho assures. “Where are you, though?”

“I’m in room seven hundred eleven,” Yeosang says, and the line ends. Byeol is already asleep, sleeping in the clothes she wore today since they don’t have enough money to buy her pajamas. Earlier, when they went with Jisoo, the ravenette kept asking Yeosang questions, which he found weird. Sure, he figured Jisoo was trying to get to know him and Byeol, but some of the questions were too personal and strange. Jisoo even asked ‘where did you use to live when you were a kid?’ You don’t ask a stranger that. She even asked what hospital Yeosang and Byeol were born at, and he lied to her and said that they were born in America. Thankfully an hour later they left since Jisoo claimed she had something to do, and when he and Byeol headed back toward their motel room, Yeosang felt something in his gut, and it wasn’t a good feeling. So, he did the first thing he could think of: search up Jongho’s information and find his phone number.

Speaking of the devil, Yeosang hears the door knock. 

“Hey,” he greets, opening the door once he makes sure it's Jongho.

“Hey,” he returns, stepping inside, and closing the door behind him. “Is everything okay? You sounded scared when you called me.”

“I am,” Yeosang admits, gnawing on his lower lip. 

“What happened?” Jongho asks, sitting down on the desk chair. Yeosang sighs. He looks up at Jongho before he opens his mouth to start explaining what happened earlier with Jisoo. Jongho listens carefully and doesn’t speak until Yeosang is finished. When the blonde finishes, he looks up at Jongho, fear and worriedness running in his eyes. “That was Chaeyoung,” he immediately says, after he looks at Yeosang, the two locking eyes.

“But…Chaeyoung looks different,” he says.

Jongho shakes his head. “That was her ‘meat suit.’ Chaeyoung’s a _demon_ , remember? Demons aren’t born with a body. They’re this evil black smoke, but they can’t do anything if they don’t have a ‘meat suit.’ Or vessel, if you prefer. Chaeyoung just got out of her old vessel and got into a new one. I don’t know why, but I think it’s because she knows you know that she’s a demon.”

“But why was she asking me all those questions?” Yeosang questions.

Jongho shrugs. “Beats me. Did she touch you or Byeol?”

“No,” Yeosang replies. “Was she supposed to?”

“No,” Jongho says. “Yeosang, I don’t think anything’s going to happen to you, but you have to be on the lookout for Chaeyoung. Especially if you don’t want anything to happen to Byeol. Chaeyoung might harm her if you don’t do anything she likes.”

Yeosang nods, gulping. “W-what am I supposed to do, then? I doubt demons can die by just stabbing them with a plain knife.”

“They don’t,” Jongho agrees. He takes out something from his jacket: a blade that has weird carvings. “This is a demon blade,” he explains. “It kills demons. It works like a knife, but it kills demons, too.” Jongho takes something else out from his jacket: a long silver blade. “This is an angel blade. It also kills demons, but it also kills angels.”

Yeosang’s eyes widen. “Angels are real?!”

Jongho nods. “Yeah. Anyway, you’re just going to need the demon blade. I can keep the angel blade.” He hands Yeosang the demon blade, who looks down at it in surprise. Finally, he reaches out a shaky hand, grabbing the blade.

“Are you sure you’re not going to want both?” he asks. 

“Yeah,” Jongho says. “I just need one blade, anyway.”

Yeosang nods this time. “But…what if Chaeyoung’s in another vessel? How do I know it’s her, and not some random human being?”

“That’s where this takes place,” Jongho says, taking out a flask from his jacket. He unscrews the cap and gives it to Yeosang. The blonde looks down at the liquid and smells it. It just smells like…water. “That’s holy water,” he clarifies. “If you throw it at someone, and they start sizzling, that means that they’re a demon.”

“Thanks, Jongho,” Yeosang says, closing the flask. “Really. I don’t even know why you’re helping me.”

Jongho smiles. “It’s my job. Well, it’s the family business—saving people, hunting things. I don’t mind keeping you safe, Yeosang. But there is one more thing.”

Yeosang feels his heart flutter at Jongho’s words, even though he doesn’t know why. “W-what?”

“Chaeyoung’s going to know that you don’t want to let her in,” Jongho starts. “In case that happens you’re going to want to put salt all around the doors and windows. Any salt works, but rock salt is better.”

“Why salt?” Yeosang asks.

“It has a history of being holy,” Jongho shortly explains. “We should also put a demon trap in your room, in case Chaeyoung does come here.”

Even though he's a bit confused, Yeosang nods. He and Jongho get to work. Yeosang puts salt around all the doors and windows, whilst Jongho sets the demon trap under the carpet. When they finish, they both just look at each other.

“Well, I should leave now.” Jongho is the first one to speak up. “If you need anything else just call me, Yeosang.”

“I-I will,” he promises, walking behind Jongho to the door.

The brunette opens the door, before turning around to face Yeosang. The two look at each other, not saying anything. Their gazes drop toward each others’ lips, but before they can do anything, Jongho clears his throat.

“Well, be safe,” he say, before quickly walking out the door, closing it behind them.

Yeosang lets out a sigh, locking the door, and putting salt around it. He turns back around, a small smile subconsciously growing on his face. _Byeol was right. Jongho_ is _cute. But I’m not in love with him, right?_

\--

The next day, Yeosang decides to not go out. He makes sure to get up around six in the morning to get himself and Byeol breakfast at a nearby diner that is open for twenty-four hours. He makes sure to be quick, since he left Byeol by herself, all alone.

But when Yeosang walks back toward his motel room, he's surprised to see a familiar strawberry blonde standing in front of the door.

“Can I help you?” Yeosang offers, as he takes out the key to his room.

“Yes, actually,” the blonde replies, a small smirk on her face. “Are you Kang Yeosang?”

“Who wants to know?” he demands.

“I do,” the strawberry blonde say, her brown eyes turning completely dark. “Now, be a good boy, and open the door to let me in, and I’ll see if I’ll let you and your pathetic sister live.”

Yeosang clenches his jaw but opens the door, letting the blonde inside. Yeosang closes the door behind them, setting the takeout bag on the desk.

“What do you want?” he snaps, crossing his arms.

“First, I just want to introduce myself,” the strawberry blonde starts. “I’m Park-”

“Chaeyoung. Yes I know,” Yeosang interrupts. “We met yesterday, remember?”

“You’re smart,” Chaeyoung notes, a smirk appearing on her face. “Then you must know that I know you know Choi Jongho.”

“I do,” Yeosang says. “So what?”

“I want something he has,” Chaeyoung says. “It’s not his, anyway, and it belongs to us.”

“What does he has?” Yeosang is brave enough to ask.

“None of your business,” Chaeyoung says. “You’ll know soon enough, anyway. Ah, and that brings me to why I came here in the first place. You’re going to help me.”

“No, I’m not,” Yeosang scoffs.

“You are,” Chaeyoung opposes. She looks at Byeol, who's still peacefully sleeping. “I think you’ll know what happens to your dear Byeol if you don’t. So, you in or not?”

Yeosang sighs in defeat. “What do you need help with?”

Chaeyoung smirks, and she walks directly into the demon trap that is underneath the carpet. Yeosang sighs in relief to himself, but it seems as if Chaeyoung realizes, and bends down to pick up the carpet, seeing the trap.

“You little bitch,” she scowls, glaring at Yeosang. 

“Not my fault you like to walk a lot,” he chuckles, letting out a small shrug. Yeosang reaches for his phone, and quickly dials Jongho’s number, knowing the brunette will know what to do.

Five minutes later, there's a knock at the door, and Yeosang opens it. Jongho smiles at him, before walking inside.

“I knew the trap would come in handy,” he mutters to himself, placing his bag down. Jongho looks up at Chaeyoung, smirking at her. “Nice to see you again, Chaeyoung.”

“Suck my ass,” she spits.

“Rather not,” Jongho replies. He takes out the angel blade from his jacket, as well as the flask that holds the holy water. “Now, you’re going to be a good demon, and tell us what the hell you want from Yeosang.”

“And if I don’t?” Chaeyoung raises an eyebrow. She glances at the angel blade, a bit of weariness in her eyes. “Are you going to kill me?”

“We’ll see,” Jongho says, instead of giving Chaeyoung a proper response. With Yeosang’s help, the two make Chaeyoung sit on the desk chair, tying her wrists down onto the arms of the chairs. She struggles against them, trying to get out, but even if she did, she wouldn’t be able to get out of the demon trap. “Now first question: why is Yeosang getting visions?”

**

Chaeyoung doesn’t say anything. Jongho raises an eyebrow, and digs the tip of the blade into her arm, trailing it down. Chaeyoung lets out a scream, clenching her fists, as blood runs down her arm.

“I-it’s part of _his_ plan,” she finally speaks up, making Jongho stop. 

“What plan?” he demands.

“His plan to destroy and rule the world,” Chaeyoung continues. She looks up at Jongho, her eyes turning completely black again. “And he’s going to start with each and every one of you dirty hunters.”

Jongho ignores her remark. “How many other people have powers like Yeosang?”

“Around…two thousand?” 

“Why so many?” Yeosang asks.

“As I said, it’s all part of his plan.”

“Who’s plan?” Jongho say.

“The man with the yellow eyes, obviously,” Chaeyoung says. 

“And what’s his plan?” Jongho resumes.

“You’re stupid if you think I’m telling you,” Chaeyoung scoffs.

Jongho clenches his jaw, and digs the blade in Chaeyoung’s shoulder, trailing it all the way down until her wrist. Chaeyoung grits her teeth in pain, but she still doesn’t say anything. Jongho shakes his head, and trails the blade along her collarbone, blood dripping down her shoulder and arm.

“Ready to answer me now?” Jongho says.

“G-go to hell,” Chaeyoung hisses, breathing heavily.

Jongho tsks. “Why are you demons so stubborn? Do you _want_ to die, Chaeyoung?”

“No,” she admits, “but I’m not going to be unloyal to my master.”

“Why were you planning to kill Jongho?” Yeosang speaks up, Jongho turning to look at him.

“How’d you know about that?” Chaeyoung asks, looking at Yeosang in surprise.

“My visions,” he says.

“I wasn’t planning on killing him until tomorrow,” Chaeyoung mutters. “But of course you had to go tell him, Kang.”

“Why were you going after me?” he says, ignoring Chaeyoung’s last remark.

Chaeyoung just looked at Yeosang, not saying anything. Jongho sighs and digs the blade into Chaeyoung’s thigh. The demon lets out a scream, breathing heavily, but her mouth doesn’t open. Without hesitating, Jongho digs the blade deeper into Chaeyoung’s thigh, making her let out another scream.

“O-okay!” she exclaims, tears now rolling down her face. “I-I’ll answer.” Jongho takes the blade out, making Chaeyoung wince. She looks up at Yeosang. “You’re one of _his_ soldiers.”

“Whose?” Yeosang asks.

“The man with the yellow eyes,” Chaeyoung replies. “If you’re not a soldier, you’re probably the captain after _him._ You’re the chosen one, Yeosang. Why do you think your parents died after your sister was born?”

“Th-they died, because I was the _‘chosen one’_?” Yeosang says, immediately feeling guilty. “So it was all because of me…”

“Your mother was a hunter, too,” Chaeyoung resumes, ignoring Yeosang. “She stopped being one when she met your father. Why do you think your father died, too?”

“S-shut up,” he muttes.

But Chaeyoung continues: “I wish I was there with yellow eyes, but unfortunately I had something else to do. Hmm, I wonder how your parents’ screams sounded like. If I did know I’d torture you with them. You know, I knew them back in the day. I once tried to kill your mom, but that bitch sent me back to hell. But guess who’s back? And this time, I’m going to kill her son.”

“I said shut up!” he yells, tears rolling down his face, as he grabs the angel blade, and stabs Chaeyoung in the shoulder.

**

“Yeosang!” Jongho shouts, pulling him back.

“I-I hate you!” he shrieks, thrashing in Jongho’s hold. “I want you dead!”

Chaeyoung's breathing is even more heavily, but a smirk grows on her face. “Your mom wanted the same thing.”

“Jongho, let me go!” Yeosang orders, trying to push the younger away, but Jongho's too strong. “Let me kill her!”

“Yeosang, quiet down,” he says softly. “We need Chaeyoung for answers. Calm down.”

Luckily, Yeosang takes a deep breath, glaring at Chaeyoung, as he tries to calm down. He relaxes in Jongho’s hold before he soon bursts into tears. Jongho is a bit surprised, but he engulfes Yeosang in his arms, rubbing his back comfortingly.

“Aw, how cute,” Chaeyoung says, a bit sarcastically.

“Shut up,” Jongho hisses, giving her a look. Chaeyoung rolls her eyes, looking down at the blade. She looks back at Yeosang and Jongho, the two seeming busy with each other. Chaeyoung closes her eyes, taking the opportunity, and starts praying, trying to get herself out of this. “You’re going to be staying here,” he finally speaks up after five minutes, looking at Chaeyoung. “I’ll be staying here, too, since Yeosang doesn’t know anything about demons. You better behave, Chaeyoung.”

“Is that an order, Mr. Choi?” she smirks.

Jongho sends her a disgusted look, before turning to go through his bag. Yeosang leaves to go to the bathroom, deciding that he can’t look at Chaeyoung anymore. Jongho soon turns back around, holding a roll of duct tape. Chaeyoung rolls her eyes, and Jongho places a piece of duct tape over her mouth. Jongho turns around again and zips his bag up again. He gives Chaeyoung a look, before heading toward the bathroom. Once he arrives, he knocks on the door, hearing Yeosang sniffling through the door.

“Yeosang, can I come in?” Jongho asks softly, placing his hand doorknob.

“O-okay,” Yeosang replies weakly.

Jongho opens the door, seeing Yeosang sitting down on the floor, leaning against the bathtub, with his legs up to his chest, his arms around them. His eyes are red and puffy, tear stains on his cheeks. Jongho lets out a frown and carefully sits down next to Yeosang.

“You okay?” Jongho asks, looking at Yeosang.

“I-I’ve been better,” he mutters. Jongho nods, staring at the wall. He’s never been good with words. “M-my parents were the best,” he speaks up after a few seconds. “I-I loved them, and they loved me. W-what else could I ask for? Th-they were normal parents, and they never showed any signs that they were hunters. W-when I was four, they got pregnant with Byeol, but when she was six months old, they both died. B-Byeol and I were separated and transferred to at least a hundred foster houses before we escaped. W-we’ve been living on the streets since then. E-every day, I wish my parents were still with us. I-I miss them.”

“I bet you do, Yeosang,” Jongho says. “I know how you feel. My mom died when I was six months, and I haven’t seen my dad in months. Hell, I don’t even know if he’s even still alive.”

“Do you love your dad?” Yeosang questions, sniffling.

“You…you could say that,” Jongho replies after thinking for a bit. “He’s not the best dad, but he tries. How were your parents?”

Yeosang lets out a small smile. “Amazing. They were high school sweethearts. Kind of cliché, but my dad transferred to Pohang-si when he was ten, and my mom got to show him around. They became friends, and in middle school, they got together and got married in their sophomore year of college. When they graduated, they had me.”

“That’s sweet,” Jongho compliments, and Yeosang nods in agreement.

“How was your mom?” he asks.

Jongho lets out a soft smile, tears building up in his eyes, but he blinks them back. “The sweetest woman you could ever meet. She was kind, loyal, and funny. She always made me this apple pie that I loved almost every day, and surprisingly, I stayed skinny. She was a loveable woman, and almost everyone around her loved her. She always made people laugh, but when she died, it made a lot of people sad, and I think up to this day there are still people who cry over her death.”

“Even you?” 

“Even me,” Jongho agrees. “I miss her.”

“We all miss someone,” Yeosang sighs. The two stay silent for a bit, just staring at the wall. That is until Yeosang speaks up: “Hey, Jongho?”

“Yeah?”

“How old are you?” 

Jongho purses his lips, before he replies, “Fifteen…”

Yeosang’s eyes widen. “Fifteen?! Damn, why are you so young?!”

“I’m going to turn sixteen in October,” Jongho pouts. “I’m not _that_ young.”

“Jongho, I’m seventeen.”

“Well, you’re just old,” he grumbles, crossing his arms.

Yeosang rolls his eyes, a small giggle escaping him. Jongho smiles at the sound, and he turns to look at Yeosang. The blonde looks back at him, a bit surprised, and the two just stare into each other’s eyes, not saying anything. They subconsciously start leaning in, their gazes dropping toward each other’s lips, but, before their lips can touch, they hear noises from outside, and Jongho quickly pulls away, cursing under his breath.

“What’s wrong?” Yeosang asks.

“Chaeyoung escaped,” Jongho explains, getting up. He holds out his hand, and Yeosang grabs it, Jongho helping him up. Yeosang thans him, and the two leave the bathroom. Indeed, Chaeyoung is gone. The demon trap is broken, but Yeosang gasps once he notices that the bed Byeol was sleeping on is empty.

“Sh-she took Byeol…” he mutters, his eyes widening, still trying to digest this new piece of information.

“Damn it,” Jongho curses, running his fingers through his hair.

“Jongho, she took Byeol!” Yeosang exclaims, tears filling his eyes again.

“I know, Yeosang, I know,” Jongho says, grabbing his shoulders. “We’ll get her back, I promise. But first, we have to find out where she is.”

“I think this is how you die, Jongho,” Yeosang says, his eyes widening, as he remembers his vision of Jongho dying. “You’re going to be walking right into your death.”

“And I’m willing to, in order to save Byeol,” he says. “For now, help me find out where Chaeyoung is hiding.”

\--

Yeosang and Jongho spend the rest of the night trying to find out where Chaeyoung could be hiding, but they have no luck. When it's around three-eighteen a.m, Jongho starts dozing off, and Yeosang lets him. As he works, Yeosang can’t help but notice how cute Jongho looks sleeping. His cheeks are a bit puffed out, and his pink lips are formed into a small pout. Yeosang lets out a small coo but is quick to go back to his work when Jongho stirs.

Now, it is six thrity-nine in the morning, and Yeosang and Jongho are both asleep. But Jongho suddenly wakes up, goosebumps rising on his skin. He notices Yeosang sleeping beside him, his head laying down on his arms. Jongho smiles at the sight of the older’s sleeping face, and, as carefully as he can, he picks up Yeosang bridal style. Jongho carries him to one of the beds, placing him down. Yeosang snuggles into the bed sheets and pillows, and Jongho lets out a coo. He covers Yeosang’s frame with the sheets, before walking away to the desk. Jongho lets out a sigh, running his fingers through his hair. He gets back to work, but that's when his phone starts ringing. He digs into his bag, taking out his phone, and checking the caller ID: _Kim Hongjoong_.

“Hyung?” Jongho says once he answers the phone, sounding surprised. “It’s been so long since we last called. What’s up?”

“Nothing much,” Hongjoong says. “Anyway, I think I saw the demon you’re looking for. Her name’s Chaeyoung, right?”

“Yeah,” Jongho replies. “Where did you see her?”

“I last saw her getting into the abandoned warehouse near Maine street,” Hongjoong says. “I saw her carrying a little girl, too, though. Do you know who she is?”

“Yeah,” Jongho says. “Thanks for telling me, hyung. I gotta go now.”

“My pleasure. Please be careful, though, Jongho. Chaeyoung is dangerous.”

“I know,” Jongho says, before hanging up.

Jongho places his phone down and is quick to pull on his jacket. He puts his stuff in his duffel bag, before zipping it up. He shoulders his bag, walking to the door when he remembers Yeosang. Turning around, he sees that the blonde is still sleeping, so Jongho takes out a piece of paper and a pen.

_i’ll be back_ , he writes, _have some business to take care of. stay here, yeosang. it’s not safe for you outside._ Deciding to leave it at that, Jongho places the paper down on the desk, before leaving. He walks toward his car, and unlocks it, getting inside. He puts the keys into the ignition, and turns them, turning the car on. He shifts the gear to reverse and backs up from the parking spot. He shifs the gear again to drive and starts driving toward Maine street, where Hongjoong told him he saw Chaeyoung. It doesn’t take long for him to arrive, parking outside the abandoned warehouse.

Jongho gets out of his car, closing the door behind him. He doesn’t bother locking it, since no one else is here, and heads toward the front door of the building. He quietly opens the door, looking around his surroundings, before stepping inside, closing the door behind him. 

“Hello?” he calls out, starting to walk where his feet lead him.

Jongho doesn’t receive a response, so he keeps walking. He soon arrives in the kitchen. There are a few plates in the sink, but besides that, the kitchen is empty. Jongho lets out a huff, crossing his arms.

“I thought Hongjoong-hyung said she was here,” he mutters to himself, a small frown forming on his face. Jongho walks out of the kitchen, heading toward another room. He arrives in what seems to be one of the bedrooms. But once he steps inside the room, he stops in his tracks. There's blood everywhere: on the floor, bed, ceiling. Jongho sniffs, scrunching his nose once he gets the scent of sulfur. Fear and panic start rising inside of him, worried about Byeol.

_She can’t be dead_ , Jongho thinks to himself, shaking his head. _Chaeyoung isn’t that type of demon._ But still, she would be capable of doing that. Gulping, Jongho turns around, but stops in his tracks when he hears a familiar voice.

“I’ve been waiting for you, Choi Jongho,” it says, and the said brunette turns around, locking eyes with a now raven-haired female.

Jongho narrowed his eyes at her. “Chaeyoung.” 

“Hey,” she greets smugly, walking inside the room, stepping over the pools of blood.

“Who did you kill?” Jongho demands. “It better have not been Byeol. We had an agreement.”

“We did,” Chaeyoung agrees, “until you decided to sell my name out to that angel.”

“No-”

“I know you did, Choi,” Chaeyoung snaps. “Now it’s time for a little payback.” She starts walking closer toward Jongho, but he gets out a flask from his pocket, quickly opens it, and throws holy water at Chaeyoung. She starts sizzling, vapor forming around her. She lets out a scream, and Jongho takes the chance to run. “You’re not going to get that far!” he hears Chaeyoung call from behind him.

Jongho runs toward the front door, about to open it when he suddenly feels something hit his shoulder. He looks at it, seeing an arrow digging into his skin. He stars feeling weak, but, before he passes out, he sees Chaeyoung looking down at him with her brown eyes turning completely black.

\--

When Jongho wakes up, he's tied to a chair, his arms tied behind it. He feels alone in the dark cold room he's in, but hears someone else breathing nearby. Jongho lets out a sigh of relief, knowing that the person is Byeol. Jongho is quick to start untying the ropes around his wrists, but that’s when someone walks into the room. That ‘someone’ happens to be Chaeyoung.

“Going somewhere?” she says, placing down a cloth that holds rows of different types of knives.

“W-what did you do to Byeol?” Jongho demands, his heart dropping at the sight of Byeol. Chaeyoung turned the lights on, and Jongho saw Byeol’s face. She's unconscious, but her body is dirty, her clothes are torn, and a few cuts and bruises are on the parts of her body that are visible. 

“I just tortured her a bit,” Chaeyoung smirks. “She was being a brat, so I decided to show her a lesson. I needed her for bait, anyway.”

“Why?” 

“For Yeosang,” Chaeyoung replies as if it's obvious. “The man with the yellow eyes is gonna be here soon, and he wants Yeosang here, too. For the while, though, I’m going to torture the answer of where the colt is out of you.”

“You still care about that?” Jongho says in disbelief.

“Of course,” Chaeyoung frowns. “Yellow eyes wants it still, and I want to get it for him.”

“You really are a sick bitch,” Jongho mutters.

Chaeyoung smiles brightly at him. “Aww, thank you!” she gushes, before grabbing a knife and dragging the tip along Jongho’s right arm. Blood starts oozing out of the wound, and he grits his teeth in pain. He’s dealt with worse.

“Is that the best you can do?” he taunts.

Chaeyoung raised an eyebrow. “You really wanna see what I’m capable of?” 

“Do it, bitch,” Jongho challenges. He just wishes Yeosang didn’t listen to him and is heading here.

“I’ll show you, then,” Chaeyoung scowls, before digging the knife into Jongho’s shoulder, just like Yeosang had done to her earlier.

\--

Eight minutes after Jongho left, Yeosang wakes up. He sits up, wondering why he is magically sleeping on one of the beds but starts panicking when he doesn't see Jongho anyhere.

“Jongho?” Yeosang calls out, getting off the bed.

Yeosang doesn’t receive a response.

Cursing under his breath, Yeosang puts on his shoes when he notices a piece of paper on the desk. He walks toward it, picking the paper up. He reads Jongho’s note and shakes his head at the younger. Yeosang doesn’t really have any weapons with him, but then remembers the demon blade Jongho gave him. He's quick to put on his jacket, making sure he has the demon blade, before walking out of the motel room. He takes out his phone and searches for Jongho’s destination. 

“Damn it, he walked straight into my vision, that dumbass,” Yeosang mutters to himself. Putting his phone away, Yeosang quickly runs toward the abandoned warehouse. He sees Jongho’s car parked outside, and he gets the idea to search through it for a weapon. He opens the glove compartment, finding a Colt Paterson gun. Yeosang is quick to take it out, putting it in his jacket, before heading toward the front door. He makes sure to be careful and opens the door quietly. He hears voices nearby and recognizes them as Chaeyoung and Jongho.

Yeosang closes the door behind him quietly and walks toward the room he heard Chaeyoung and Jongho. He hides by the wall and peeks his head in, seeing Jongho tied to a chair, blood running down his arms and shoulder, and seeing Byeol handcuffed to the wall. Yeosang grits his teeth, but hides again when Chaeyoung turns around.

_Luckily, Jongho isn’t dead yet_ , Yeosang thinks to himself. _But that’s weird. In my vision, he was already dead by now. And my visions are always correct. What happened now?_

“Ready to tell me where the colt is now?” he hears Chaeyoung ask, placing something down on a metal desk.

“Suck my ass,” Jongho spits, making Yeosang let out a small smile. _That’s my boy- wait, where did_ that _come from?_

Suddenly, Jongho lets out another scream, making Yeosang wince. Chaeyoung lets out a huff, placing something else down.

“Ready to tell me _now?”_

“I-if you’re going to kill me, j-just kill me already,” Jongho says, panting lightly, and ignoring Chaeyoung’s question. “No point in stalling.”

“You’re right,” she agrees, “but I like torturing you. It’s… _fun_.”

_Shit, this is the part where Chaeyoung starts killing him_ , Yeosang curses to himself. He tries to rack his brain for a plan but is too late because he soon hears another ‘person’ appearing.

“What is going on here, Chaeyoung?” a deep male voice demands. “I thought I told you that _I_ wanted to kill Choi Jongho.”

“T-Taehyung.” Chaeyoung sounds surprised. “W-what are you doing here?”

“I had a feeling you were up to no good, and I was right,” Taehyung explains. He then stops, seeming as if he's thinking. He clicks his tongue in amusement, before turning toward the doorway. “Ah, Mr. Kang, I’ve seen that you’ve joined us. Please come out.”

_Damn it_ , Yeosang curses to himself, making himself visible. He looks up, locking eyes with ‘the man with the yellow eyes.’ Yeosang didn’t expect the male (or demon) to be this handsome.

“Thank god you’re here,” Jongho says, sighing in relief. “Get us out of here, Yeosang.”

“I-I don’t know how,” he admits, not being able to look away from ‘Taehyung.’

“How about you take a picture?” the demon suggests sarcastically. “It’ll last longer.”

“Why did you kill my parents?” Yeosang can’t help but ask. “What did they ever do to you?”

Taehyung shrugs. “They were an obstacle in my plan. If they knew I wanted you to be in my army they’d try anything to stop me, and I didn’t want that. So I killed them.”

“Then why did you kill _my_ mom?” Jongho demands.

“She was a pain in the ass,” Taehyung frowns. “And I thought I would need you, too, but you spit out my blood once it got in your mouth. You know, you were one smart baby.”

Jongho makes a disgusted face. “Why did you try to put your blood in my mouth?” 

“So I would know if you were in my army or not,” Taehyung says. He turns to Yeosang but is still talking to Jongho. “How do you think loverboy here got his powers?”

“I-I have _demon blood_ in me?” Yeosang asks, his eyebrows raise, looking at Taehyung in disbelief.

“Of course,” he chuckles. “No one is born with powers, sweetie.”

“But why do you want _me_?” Yeosang says. “I’m a nobody.”

“You’re special, Yeosang,” Taehyung says. “You have potential in you, and that’s what I look for in a solder.”

“I am _not_ a soldier in your army,” Yeosang scoffs.

“Sure you are!” Taehyung says. “Once you have my blood in you, you’re in my army, whether you like it or not.”

“Go to hell,” Yeosang snaps.

“Already been there.” Taehyung lets out a shrug. “So ,what do you say? Want to join me?”

“Hell no,” Yeosang replies with no hesitation. “I’d rather die than join your stupid army. Get someone else.”

Taehyung lets out a sigh. “I was afraid things would have to be this way.” Confused, Yeosang is about to ask what Taehyung means, but that’s when the demon’s eyes turn yellow, and he moves his hand to the side. Jongho lets out a groan, bending forwards, as blood spills out of his mouth. “Currently, Jongho’s insides are being turned into a mush,” he explains. “A snap of my fingers, and he’s dead, Yeosang. But he doesn’t have to be, as long as you say yes.”

“Leave him alone!” he exclaims, heading toward Jongho, but Chaeyoung holds him back.

“What’s it going to be, Yeosang?” Taehyung asks, moving his hand more, making Jongho let out a scream.

“Y-yes!” Yeosang yells, tears running down his face. “Just let Jongho go!”

To his and Jongho’s relief, Taehyung lets his hand go to his side, and Jongho pants heavily, a stream of blood running down the corner of his mouth.

“Nice choice, Yeosang,” Taehyung compliments, smiling at Yeosang. 

“Y-Yeosang, no,” Jongho speaks up, looking up at Yeosang. “Don’t do this. Please. Think of Byeol. How do you think she’s going to feel if she knows her brother is the leader of a demon’s army?”

“Don’t listen to him,” Taehyung orders, shutting Jongho up. “Are you ready to leave, Yeosang?”

The blonde bites his bottom lip, looking at Jongho and Byeol. He knows he has to do this, or else Jongho and Byeol can end up dead. Blinking tears back, Yeosang prays that Jongho will forgive him. He turns to Taehyung. “I’m ready, master.”


	2. Chapter 2

_“I’m ready, master.”_

And with that, Chaeyoung, Taehyung, and Yeosang disappear, a small whoosh being the only indication that they were there at all. Jongho lets out a groan, struggling against the ropes tied around his wrists. He finally manages to untie them, even though he feels a bit weak, because of all the blood he lost. He doesn’t even bother trying to stop the blood: there are too many injuries for him to do so.

Getting up, Jongho lets out a small groan of pain, his whole body burning. Surprisingly, he’s dealt with worse, yet he still feels so weak. He feels stupid for not trying to use the angel blade on Chaeyoung, but what’s done is done. Jongho limps toward where Byeol is and starts undoing the ropes that are tied around her. As he's close to being done, the little girl stirs, waking up.

“O-Oppa?” she lets out hoarsely, coughing out blood. “W-where’s Yeosangie?”

“He’ll be back soon, Byeol,” Jongho says, even though he doubts what he just said. He unties the last knot on the ropes around Byeol, picking her up. There's a bit of strength left in him, so he can carry Byeol for a few minutes, but he doesn’t know how long he'll last before his body gives out.

“O-Oppa, I’m hungry,” Byeol mutters against Jongho’s neck, loosely wrapping her arms around it, as Jongho places her on his back.

“I-I’ll get you food,” he promises, starting to walk out of the building. Jongho feels Byeol weakly nod, and rest her small head against his shoulder, falling asleep. Jongho lets out a sigh. He can’t believe the mess he, Yeosang, and Byeol have gotten into. Yeosang and Byeol are normal people, for fuck’s sake. Well, Byeol is more of a normal person, since she doesn’t get visions, but Yeosang still counts, since he never hunted monsters or anything like that.

As Jongho walks back toward the hotel, he starts coming up with a plan on how to get Yeosang back. That is if he hasn’t fallen under the hands of Taehyung, and is actually agreeing to the demon’s plan. Jongho lets out a small groan, wishing he was never born.

“Sir, are you okay?” Jongho hears a male ask. “You’re kind of…bleeding?”

“I’m fine.” Jongho gives the guy a small smile, continuing to walk.

“Sir, you’re bleeding from everywhere.”

“I know I am. Please just leave me alone,” Jongho says pleadingly, but his knees feel weak, and his legs start feeling numb. Jongho soon finds himself falling to the ground, and the last thing he sees is a familiar male’s face looking concerned before Jongho passes out.

\--

The next time Jongho wakes up, he flinches at the blinding white lights that glare back at him. He doesn’t even need to look around to know that he's at a hospital. He’s been here many times it can even count as his house. Suddenly, he remembers about Byeol, and quickly sits up, even though his whole body protests, and he looks around for the little girl.

“Mr. Choi, please lay back down,” a formal female warns sternly. “You’re still very weak.”

“Where’s Byeol?” Jongho demands. “Where is she?”

“She’s getting taken care of,” the doctor explains. “How are you feeling?”

“Take me to Byeol,” Jongho orders. “I need to see her.” He starts getting up, but the doctor pushes him back down.

“Jongho, please. You have two broken ribs, and severe injuries from each of your body parts,” the doctor says. “Well, except your penis and buttocks, but it’s still very bad. You need to lay back down.”

“I don’t care. I need to see Byeol,” Jongho pleads. “Please. H-her brother’s gone, and I have to take care of her now.”

“Jongho, you’re still fifteen,” the doctor reminds.

“I don’t care,” Jongho snaps. “Please. Let me see Byeol.”

“You’ll be able to see her soon,” the doctor promises. “Just please lay back down. You have a visitor.”

Jongho perks up at that, but also grew cautious. “Who?”

“Someone who claims they’re your uncle,” the doctor explains. “His name is…Kim Hongjoong? He also brought along five other people, who claim to be your friends.”

“I know them,” Jongho confirms. “Please bring them in.”

The doctor nods, bowing before she leaves. A few seconds later, she returns with five males, the five seeming relieved once they see Jongho.

“I’ll leave you six alone,” the doctor says, before she leaves, closing the door behind her.

“Oh, thank god you’re okay,” Hongjoong says in relief. 

“What were you thinking, Choi Jongho?!” the raven-haired male next to Hongjoong exclaims. “You know, I would hit the back of your head if I could, but unfortunately, your stupid dumbass got yourself injured. What were you thinking?!”

“I’m fine, thanks for asking, Seonghwa-hyung,” Jongho says sarcastically.

“Don’t be sarcastic with me, Choi,” Seonghwa warns. “I’m really mad at you. But I’m just you’re okay. I can’t have my youngest baby dying.”

“I’m not a baby anymore,” Jongho whines.

“Your whining says so otherwise,” the raven-haired male next to Seonghwa chuckles, making Jongho glare at him.

“Whatever,” Jongho grumbles. “What are you guys doing herem anyway? I thought you all had stuff to do.”

“Well, after Hongjoong-hyung told us you were going after Chaeyoung, we tried to quickly finish our errands,” the red and black haired male next to Jongho’s bed explains. “And now that you’re in the hospital, we quickly rushed over here.”

“You had us really worried here, Jongho,” the raven-haired male with aqua green ends also next to Jongho’s bed adds. 

“Well, thanks for coming, hyungs.” Jongho smiles at them. “I’m fine, though. I was just really exhausted earlier.”

“What happened earlier, though?” the silver-haired male at the end of Jongho’s bed asks. “Does Chaeyoung have something to do with this?”

“You guess right, Wooyoung-hyung,” Jongho sighs. “She tortured me, so I could tell her where the colt is.”

“Is it still in the Impala?” Hongjoong asks.

“Yeah,” Jongho replies, not knowing that Yeosang grabbed it.

“Are you…going to go after Chaeyoung?” Seonghwa says.

“Yes,” Jongho replies without any hesitation. “I met the man with the yellow eyes, guys.”

Everyone’s eyes widen, Yunho and San letting out a gasp.

“Does your dad know?” Yunho asks.

Jongho shook his head. “No. I want to tell him, but he doesn’t answer my calls, and I don’t even know where he is. That bastard.”

San lets out a chuckle. “Well, can you blame him? He’s Choi Sang-Ook for god’s sake.”

“I guess,” Jongho mutters. He lets out a small yawn, his eyes suddenly feeling heavy.

“I think we should leave Jongho alone now, guys,” Seonghwa says, noticing how tired Jongho is looking.

“I-I’m not tired,” he denies. As if on cue, Jongho lets out another yawn, covering his mouth with his hand. “I-I’m just…lazy.”

“Sure.” Even Mingi doesn’t seem to believe Jongho. “We’ll see you later, Jongho. Get some rest.”

The youngest doesn’t even try to deny that he's tired this time. He really is. He’s never been this tired before, but he does notice that the knife Chaeyoung used had some weird carvings into it, so maybe that has something to do with this. The others tell Jongho to rest well as well, before they leave. Once the door closes behind Hongjoong, Jongho doesn’t even waste a second before falling asleep.

\--

“Can I see Byeol now?” he asks, as the doctor is checking his vitals. It’s been two days ever since Jongho saw her, but every time he tried to move, his ribs protest, and the doctor would lead him back into his room. But now his ribs are feeling better, and he desperately wants to know how Byeol is doing. The doctor doesn’t say anything about her, either.

“I’ll see,” she mutters.

Jongho lets out a sigh, looking up at the ceiling. When the doctor is finally done, she brushes her fingers by Jongho’s ribs. “Does this hurt?”

“No,” he replies.

The doctor raises an eyebrow and presses a bit harder. “Does it hurt now?” To his surprise, Jongho shakes his head. “I’ll be back to check your x-ray, then,” she mumbles, before leaving the room.

Jongho sighs, leaning back against his pillow, and looking at the ceiling. He stays in silence for a bit, before he suddenly hears a small _whoosh_ sound and the sound of wings flapping. Without having to turn around, Jongho knows an angel is here.

“Hey,” the angel’s voice greets. “How have you been doing, Jongho?”

“What are you doing here, Seokjin?” he asks, instead of answering the angel’s question.

“I came to check up on you,” he explains. “The only news we talk about on angel radio is how you’re doing. Well, also about Kang Yeosang’s disappearance, and teaming up with Taehyung, but mostly about you.”

“I’ve been doing well,” Jongho says. “Were you…were you the one that cured my ribs?”

“As well as every other injured part in your body,” Seokjin adds. “You’re welcome.”

“Why?” When Jongho found out that angels were real, he’s never had a good relationship with any of them. If you count Seokjin, then you could say they had an…‘okay’ relationship. Sure, they’ve fought, and Seokjin has tried to kill Jongho before, but their ‘friendship’ is mostly okay.

“We need you,” Seokjin finally says. 

“Who?” 

“Everyone,” Seokjin sighs. “We need you to defeat Taehyung, Jongho. _You_ need to win this fight for us. No one else can do it, except you.”

“Why?” Jongho scoffs. “I’m just an ordinary hunter. I ain’t special. If this is because I know Yeosang then that’s stupid.”

“It _is_ about you knowing Yeosang,” Seokjin admits. “But we decided to put our trust on you because you’re the only one who can break Yeosang out of his trance. Sure, he has Byeol, but she’s barely even eight. And you have more experience with monsters, Jongho.”

“I barely know Yeosang,” he reminds.

“Yeah, but you’re in love with him.”

“What? No-”

“Don’t try to deny,” Seokjin interrupts, a small smirk growing on his face. “I’ve seen the way you two look at each other. It’s the best form of true love I’ve ever seen. And that speaks a lot because I’ve seen other forms of love.”

“You’ve been watching me?” Jongho asks. “So then you know how I needed help when Chaeyoung was torturing me. I _prayed_ to you, Seokjin. Why didn’t you come?”

“I couldn’t,” he replies. “I wasn’t allowed.”

“Why-”

“Well, Jongho, I am happy to tell you that your injuries are all healed.” The doctor suddenly walks in, pushing the door open. Seokjin is quick to disappear. “You are free to see Byeol now.”

Jongho makes a mental note to himself to kill Seokjin later, but for now, he's relieved that he can finally see Byeol. He quickly gets off the bed and follows behind the doctor toward Byeol’s room. Once he arrives, he's surprised to see the little girl looking healthy.

“Thankfully, Byeol was cured, too,” the doctor says. “It must be a miracle.”

“Yeah…” Jongho glances at the doctor, before walking toward Byeol’s side. The little girl smiles once she notices Jongho.

“Oppa!” she squeals. “How are you feeling?”

“I’ve been feeling fine, Byeol,” Jongho replies. “How have _you_ been feeling?”

“Fine,” Byeol answers. “Can we go home now, Oppa? Is Yeosangie back?”

“He’ll be back soon,” Jongho assures, even though he isn’t so sure. He turns toward the doctor. “Doc, when can we leave?”

“Hopefully tomorrow,” she answers after a few seconds. “We’ll just need to check yours and Byeol’s vitals to see if they’re fine.”

Jongho sighs in relief, but he's sure he's going to sneak out with Byeol in the middle of the night. “Alright. Thanks, doc. Can you leave us alone for a few?” The doctor nods, bowing before she leaves. She closes the door behind her, leaving Jongho and Byeol alone. Jongho looks at Byeol, brushing her bangs back, and pressing a soft kiss on her forehead. “I am so glad you’re doing okay,” he says. “Yeosang would kill me if he knew I made you go to the hospital.”

“Yeosangie wouldn’t kill you, Oppa,” Byeol giggles.

_We’ll see about that_ , Jongho thinks to himself. “Byeol, we’re going to sneak out tonight, okay? I know the doctor said tomorrow, but we need to leave. Are you okay with that?”

Byeol seems a bit surprised, but she nods, thankfully.

\--

Chaeyoung, Taehyung, and Yeosang arrive at a strange place: it has grey clouds, worn out buildings, and the place seems empty. There are barely any people at all, and Yeosang doubts that the people that were here were even human at all.

“Welcome to your new home, Yeosang.” Taehyung has a small cruel smile on his face. “You’ll be staying for a while.”

“And how long is that ‘while’ going to be?” Yeosang asks.

“We’ll see,” Taehyung replies. He starts leading Chaeyoung and Yeosang toward an abandoned restaurant, the three walking inside. Once they are, Yeosang spots around eight other demons. But, as they notice Taehyung, they immediately bow.

“Your majesty,” they greet in unison.

“Thanks for the warm welcome, guys.” Taehyung smiles, and he motions Yeosang to go over to him. Yeosang hesitantly does, and Taehyung places his hands on the back of his neck. Yeosang lets out a small gasp, but Taehyung’s eyes suddenly turn yellow, and Yeosang feels himself drowning in them. He feels a sudden surge in him, and his skin get colder and paler, the color from his skin fading. Now, Yeosang is white, unlike his usual tan color.

But that isn’t all. He doesn’t feel his heart beating against his chest anymore. Hell, he doubts it's even there anymore. His lips felt chapped, but every time he licks them, they stay like that. His whole body feels different, and Yeosang doesn’t know why.

“W-what are you doing to him?” Chaeyoung questions nervously.

“I’m changing him,” Taehyung explains with a dark smirk on his face. 

“S-stop,” Yeosang pleads weakly, but Taehyung’s hands don’t move off him. Thankfully, three seconds later the pain stops, and Taehyung drops his hands. Yeosang fee;s relieved, but that's when he realizes Taehyung is cutting his arm, and the next thing Yeosang knows, Taehyung is shoving his arm in his mouth, making him drink the blood.

“Drink,” Taehyung orders. “Drink, Yeosang.” The blonde looks at Taehyung warily, before doing what he'as told. Surprisingly, the blood doesn’t taste bitter; it tastes sweet. Yeosang grabs Taehyung’s arm, and eagerly drinks the blood, finding it as sweet as candy. But the blonde soon lets out a groan when Taehyung pulls his arm away. “That’s all you’re getting right now,” he says. Taehyung looks at the remaining demons in the room. “Try to kill one of them right now, Yeosang.”

“I-I don’t know how,” he stutters.

_“Try.”_

Gulping, Yeosang looks at one of the demons. She looks scared but doesn’t move. Yeosang lifts his hand and starts concentrating. The demon’s vessel starts moving around, her eyes turning black and their normal color back and forth, and black smoke comes out of her mouth. Yeosang slowly pulls the smoke out of the demon’s vessel until only the demon’s black smoke is showing. Yeosang twists his hand, and a yellow glow appears before the smoke disappears.

“Great job, Yeosang,” Taehyung praises. “It was your first try, too. You’re going to be a great captain.”

“And I can’t wait, master.”

\--

Around twelve-o-four a.m., all the lights in the hospital are turned off. Well, the lights on Jongho’s floor. His doctor is long gone, so he doesn’t need to worry about her. He takes the sheets off his frame and the wires that are connected to his arm. He grabs his clothes from underneath the bed and quickly changes into them. He walks out of the room, quietly closing the door behind him. He starts walking toward Byeol’s room, being careful of his surroundings. He soon arrives and pushes the door open. Once she hears the door open, Byeol looks up, smiling once she sees Jongho.

“Are we going to leave now, Oppa?” she quietly asks.

“Yeah,” Jongho replies, and carefully takes off the wires on Byeol's arm. He grabs her clothes from underneath the bed, handing them to her. “Do you need help changing?” Byeol shakes her head, so Jongho quickly turns around. A minute later, Byeol announces she's done, so Jongho picks her up. He walks toward the window, and quietly opens it. There's a fire escape outside, so they can escape from there. Jongho places Byeol down on it first, before climbing out the window. The two quietly walk down the fire escape, arriving on the ground. Without hesitating, Jongho grabs Byeol’s hand, and the two start running out of the hospital’s grounds. Jongho runs toward the motel they were staying at, and they soon arrive. “Shoot, I don’t have my key,” he curses, as he finished patting his pockets.

“We could ask the office,” Byeol suggests. 

“I doubt they’ll believe me, Byeol,” Jongho sighs. He doesn’t know what to do. Their only option right now is to just sleep on the ground. But even there they can’t. Suddenly, they both hear the sound of a phone ringing, so Jongho takes his out, barely remembering he has it. He checks the caller ID, relieved that Hongjoong is calling him. He quickly answers the call. “Hello?”

“Where are you, Jongho?” Hongjoong asks. “I doubt you’re still at the hospital.”

“I’m not,” Jongho agrees. “We’re at the motel fifteen minutes away.”

_“We?”_ Hongjoong sounds surprised. “Who’s there with you?”

“I’ll explain later,” Jongho assures. “Can you come pick us up?”

“I’ll be right there,” Hongjoong promises, before hanging up.

“Who was that, Oppa?” Byeol questions.

“It’s…one of my friends,” Jongho replies. Telling Byeol the truth won’t hurt, right? “He’s coming to pick us up.”

“Yay!” Byeol squeals, but Jongho motions for her to quiet down. She quietly apologizes, and they start waiting for Hongjoong. Not even five minutes later, they hear a car appearing and Jongho recognizes Hongjoong sitting in the driver’s seat.

“Thanks for coming to pick us up, hyung,” Jongho says, as he helps Byeol buckle herself in the backseat, before getting inside the passenger’s seat.

“Don’t mention it,” Hongjoong says, before beginning to drive away. He looks at Byeol through the rearview mirror. “Who’s that?”

“She’s…Yeosang’s brother,” Jongho starts.

“Who’s Yeosang?” Hongjoong asks.

“I’ll explain later,” Jongho says. “Where are the others?”

“They’re at mine and Seonghwa’s house,” Hongjoong replies. “They’re all there, so you better explain everything, Jongho.”

“I will,” he promises. They soon arrive at Hongjoong’s and Seonghwa’s house a few minutes later, Hongjoong parking in the driveway. They all get out, walking toward the front door. Hongjoong unlocks it, and they walk inside. Jongho closes the door behind them, and the three walk toward the living room, seeing the other five.

“Jongho!” they exclaim, quickly rushing toward him. They engulf him in a hug, surprised as Hongjoong when they notice Byeol.

“Who’s this cutie?” Seonghwa asks in a cooing tone, smiling at Byeol, who smiles back at him shyly.

“This is Yeosang’s sister,” Jongho repeats.

“Who’s Yeosang?” Yunho says.

“I’ll explain everything,” Jongho says. “But do you guys have any food? I’m hungry, and I think Byeol is, too.”

Seonghwa nods, and he quickly walks toward the kitchen, assuring Jongho that he’ll make them something. The other seven walk toward the living room, taking a seat. Seonghwa soon comees back with grilled cheese sandwiches for Jongho and Byeol, who thank him. Jongho takes a bite of his sandwich before he starts explaining everything from the start. The others listen carefully, Byeol seeming confused for the most part, but when Jongho hesitantly gets to the part where Yeosang agreed to go with Taehyung, tears start rolling down her face.

“I-is Yeosangie evil n-now?” she frowns.

“Of course not,” Jongho says, even though he doubts it. “But even if he is, he’s still your brother, Byeol. He loves you no matter what.”

“Did Seokjin visit you?” San asks.

“Yeah,” Jongho sighs. “He told me that I was the one that had to save everyone. Especially since I knew Yeosang, and I was…um…in love with…him…”

Everyone’s jaws drop, except for Byeol’s, since she doesn’t really understand.

“You’re in love with someone?!” 

“No,” Jongho quickly denies. “Seokjin was just talking nonsense.”

“But he always turns out to be right,” Mingi reminds. “Unfortunately.”

“Jongie here has a crush~” Wooyoung teases, making Jongho glare at him.

“I do not,” Jongho pouts. “I just happen to find Yeosang very cute and beautiful. Especially the way he moves and talks, his smile, his laugh- Okay, maybe I am in love with him…”

Hongjoong smiled. “Ah, that’s great news. You deserve someone like Yeosang. He sounds nice.”

“You’re not worried that he might kill me?” Jongho asks.

“No, because we all know you’re not going to let him,” Seonghwa says. “Besides from the looks of it and the way you explained it, it seems as if Yeosang’s in love with you, too.”

“No, he’s not,” Jongho scoffs. “He barely knows me.”

“And you barely know him,” Yunho reminds. “True love right there, Choi.”

“You’re all weird,” the second youngest frowns. “I may be in love with Yeosang, but I don’t think he’s in love with me. That’ll be weird.”

“There’s only one way to find out,” San smirks. “Jongho and Yeosang sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G. First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes a-”

“I came over, so you guys could help me,” Jongho interrupts, giving San a look. “Not so you guys could tease me.”

“Jongho, we’re your hyungs,” Mingi chuckles. “It’s our _job_ to make fun of you.”

Jongho rolls his eyes. “Whatever. Can we focus on the main task right now? We need to figure out how to save Yeosang.”

“I don’t think we should do it with his little sister listening,” Wooyoung mutters, motioning toward the little girl.

“Ugh, you’re right.” Jongho looks at Byeol, who's barely finishing her sandwich. “Byeol?” 

The little girl looks up at Jongho. “Yeah?” 

“Why don’t you go to sleep?” he suggests. “We have a big day ahead of us tomorrow, and you need to sleep.”

“Then you should sleep, too,” she frowns. 

“I have things to do, Byeol,” Jongho says. 

“How about if you go to sleep,” Seonghwa speaks up, probably knowing how to talk to a little girl more than Jongho, even though they're almost the same age, “we’ll buy you ice cream tomorrow, yeah? You like ice cream, don’t you, sweetie?”

Byeol nods, a bit eagerly. “Yeah.” 

“Then how about you go to sleep, and we’ll get ice cream tomorrow?” Seonghwa says, and Byeol nods again, liking the idea. Seonghwa then excuses himself and Byeol, probably leading her toward one of the rooms.

“You know, hyung, if you and Seonghwa _do_ end up surviving,” Yunho speaks up, “Seonghwa would be an amazing parent.”

“You’re talking nonsense,” Hongjoong mutters, but the color of his cheeks say he agrees with Yunho.

San lets out a chuckle. “You guys would be the cutest parents ever. You’d be the strict angry, but dorky dad, and Seonghwa-hyung would be the caring and loving mom. What a perfect couple.”

Hongjoong rolls his eyes. “Anyway, Jongho, what do you think we should do about Yeosang?”

“I think we should find out where Taehyung’s lair is first,” Jongho replies. “From there we’ll just figure everything else out.”

“What if we can’t figure out where Taehyung’s lair is, though?” Mingi says.

“Then we’re fucked.”

\--

Even though they are tired, the seven spend the whole night trying to figure out where Taehyung’s lair is, and any signs that there's a demon anywhere, but they have zero luck. The others start dozing off, but Jongho reminds them to pay attention. He feels bad, but he needs all hands on deck if they want to save the world and Yeosang.

“Why can’t the angels fucking help us?” Wooyoung grumbles as he serves himself his nth cup of coffee. “I bet they’re just waiting for us to fuck up, so they can take over.”

“Angels are sons of bitches,” Jongho reminds. “Any of you have any luck yet?”

The rest shake their heads, letting out a sigh.

“We’re never going to find where Taehyung’s lair is,” Hongjoong sighs, already starting to give up hope.

“We will,” Seonghwa assures, giving his boyfriend a stern look. “Don’t give up hope yet, Joong.”

“I’m trying,” he groans, getting up to probably serve himself more coffee.

“Is Byeol awake yet?” Yunho asks.

“It’s fife-nineteen in the morning,” San basically deadpans. “Of course she’s not.”

Yunho just sends San a glare, the younger giving him a small smirk. The seven continue working without saying anything else. Two dreadful hours pass, before Mingi suddenly gasps, his eyes lighting up.

“Guys, I think I found something!” he announces.

“What?” Wooyoung excitedly and nervously questions, standing next to Mingi.

“Read here.” The male points to the headline of an online news article: _Strange Cattle Mutilations and Weather Hit the Small Town of Shreveport, Louisiana._

“Demon signs,” Jongho realizes, his eyes widening slightly in realization.

“Do you think Taehyung could be there?” Hongjoong asks.

“Probably,” Jongho mutters. “Let’s go.”

“What about Byeol?” Seonghwa reminds. “She’s still asleep.”

“They have a family friend who can take care of her,” Jongho says. “I don’t know his number, but his name’s Park Jimin, I think?”

“I think I have his number,” Yunho mumbles, taking out his phone.

“Call him, then,” Jongho calls out, as he walks toward the room Byeol is sleeping in. He walks inside, seeing the little girl still sleeping. Jongho smiles at her sleeping face and feels bad that he has to wake her up. He softly grabs her shoulder, and lightly shakes her. “Byeol. Byeol, wake up.”

The little girl soon stirs, waking up. Once her eyes land on Jongho, she looks confused to see him there. “O-Oppa? What are you doing here?”

“We need to leave,” he explains. “You’re going to be staying with Uncle Jimin.”

“Okay.” Jongho's surprised that Byeol seems excited. They walk out of the room, walking back outside, seeing San and Mingi loading up rifles with bullets filled with salt, Wooyoung and Hongjoong loading up guns with real bullets, and Seonghwa and Yunho preparing holy water.

“I see you guys got to work,” Jongho chuckles. “We ready to go?”

“Almost,” San replies. “Hyungs, do you guys have any more salt?”

Hongjoong nods, walking toward their pantry. Jongho takes the time and serves all of them a quick breakfast, which is cereal. Byeol eagerly eats, and Jongho feels a bit bad for not giving her enough food last night. The others are soon done with preparing their gear and eating, and they each carry a duffel bag, except for Byeol. They walk outside, Mingi closing and locking the door behind them, and walking toward the cars.

“Wait, where’s your car, Jongho?” Mingi asks.

Jongho’s eyes widen. He can’t believe he had forgotten about his baby. “Shit, I forgot about her. She’s still at the abandoned warehouse by Maine street.”

“We’ll go get her, then,” Wooyoung says, holding out his hand, so Jongho can put the Impala’s keys on it.

“You know I don’t trust anyone with my car,” he reminds.

Wooyoung rolls his eyes. “I promise I won’t treat her badly.”

Jongho lets out a sigh, placing the keys down on Wooyoung’s palm. They don’t have time for him to be stubborn. “You better return without leaving a scratch on Baby.”

“I promise,” Wooyoung says before walking away with Hongjoong.

Sighing, Jongho gets into Seonghwa’s car with the other five. Seonghwa gets into the driver’s seat, turning the car on. He starts driving toward Jimin’s address, but they stop for ice cream, as promised, on the way. They soon arrive at Jimin’s place, who seem surprised to see them.

“Guys?” It also seems like Jimin knew them. “What are you guys doing here?”

“Can you take care of Byeol?” Seonghwa asks. “We need to go on a job, and she can’t come along.”

“O-of course,” Jimin replies, and he hugs Byeol, as she runs into his arms. “What’s the job about?”

“We’ll explain everything later,” Yunho assures, “but right now we need to leave before it’s too late.”

Jimin nods. “Be safe. Call me if you need anything.”

The others nod, saying bye to Jimin and Byeol, before heading back inside Seonghwa’s car. They drive toward the ice cream place where they agreed to meet up with Hongjoong and Wooyoung, the two already there.

“Ah, my baby,” Jongho squeals, as he sees his car, running toward her. “I’m so sorry I forgot about you, Baby.”

“He does know it’s just a car, right?” San whispers to the others.

“Yes, but shh,” Mingi whispers back.

“You, um, ready to go, Jongho?” Wooyoung asks.

“Y-yeah,” Jongho replies. “Let’s go, hyungs.” With a smile, Jongho gets inside his car with Yunho and Mingi. The other four get in Seonghwa’s car, and the oldest starts leading them to Shreveport, Louisiana. It's a two-hour drive, so they can hopefully get there in time before anything bad happens.

\--

“Boss, I have news,” one of the demons announce, walking inside the abandoned restaurant.

“It better be important,” Taehyung mutters.

“It turns out Kim Hongjoong, Park Seonghwa, Jeong Yunho, Choi San, Song Mingi, Jung Wooyoung, and Choi Jongho are heading here,” the demon informs. “Should we do something, boss?”

“No,” Taehyung replies. He looks over at Yeosang, who's stuffing down some more blood down his throat. “Let them come to us.”

The demon nods, bowing before he leaves. Taehyung raises his hand, motioning for the rest of the demons to leave. Chaeyoung and Yeosang stay behind.

“The seven infamous hunters are coming to rescue you,” Taehyung starts, looking at Yeosang, but speaking to both Chaeyoung and Yeosang. “They’re your enemies, Yeosang. We’re the ones who are your friends. The seven hunters are your enemies, got that? You have to kill them and bring their bodies to me. Understand?”

“Yes, master,” Yeosang replies monotonously, bowing. Taehyung motions for him to leave, and Yeosang does. Now, Chaeyoung and Taehyung are alone.

“What do you want me to do, master?” she asks.

“Be ready for their arrival,” Taehyung orders. “And whatever you do, make sure that Yeosang doesn’t kill Jongho.”

“But I thought-”

“I know what I said,” Taehyung snaps. “I was just saying nonsense. Now make sure Yeosang doesn’t kill Jongho, ‘cause I’m going to need him. Dismissed.”

It's obvious Chaeyoung wants to ask more questions, but Taehyung turns his back to her. With a sigh, Chaeyoung bows, before leaving, leaving Taehyung alone to his thoughts.

\--

“Mingi, did you really have to make us stop, so you could go pee?” Hongjoong sighs, as they stop at a gas station.

“Yes,” Mingi replies, before dashing inside the building.

“How can you deal with him?” Seonghwa asks Yunho with a small frown on his face.

“The same way Hongjoong-hyung deals with you,” Yunho replies, a small smirk on his face, before he walks inside the building.

“Rude,” Seonghwa huffs.

Hongjoong chuckles, and the rest walk inside the building. Seonghwa pays for the gas and goes outside to pump the gas into the car. Hongjoong, Yunho, San, Wooyoung, and Jongho grab snacks to eat—they're going to need all the energy they can get—whilst Mingi goes to the bathroom. The male soon walks out, letting out a sigh of relief.

“You happy now?” Yunho says, as his boyfriend stops next to him.

“Of course,” Mingi answers, starting to grab a few snacks.

Seonghwa soon comes inside, and they all bring their snacks. They walk back outside, getting inside the cars. Seonghwa and Jongho start driving again, only thirty minutes left to arrive at Shreveport. Thirty minutes later, Seonghwa and Jongho park somewhere hidden, but close enough to the place where Yeosang is.

“We gotta be ready to die, guys,” San reminds, as they make sure they have everything. “We’re facing a powerful demon here.”

“How many times have we said ‘get ready to die’, and we end up still alive?” Wooyoung chuckles. “We’re going to be fine, Sannie.”

“Yeah,” Jongho agrees, even though he isn’t so sure himself.

“You all ready?” Hongjoong asks, swinging a duffel bag over his shoulder.

“We were born ready,” Seonghwa replies for all of them.

They all walk toward their chosen hidden spot, looking at how many demons are guarding the place: thirteen. There's going to be more inside.

“How are we going to get past them?” Yunho questions.

“Well, there’s seven of us, and thirteen of them,” San mutters, thinking hard. “We can go with the suicidal plan, and fight them.”

“As you said, suicidal,” Mingi mumbles. “We need a better plan. Wy didn’t we come up with one before?”

“Because we forgot,” Wooyoung groans. “Why don’t we ask the angels for help?”

“They already know we need help,” Jongho grumbles. “If they wanted to help they would be here.”

“Those sluts,” Hongjoong scowls. They all observe the perimeter, taking note of what is there. Seonghwa’s eyes then light up, as he realizes something.

“Jongho, do you still have your father’s journal?” he asks.

“Yeah,” Jongho replies. “Why?”

“There are phrases for exorcism, right?” Seonghwa continues. Jongho nods. “Well, there are speakers outside the stores. One of us can use them, and announce the exorcism. Not only will we get the thirteen demons, but some of the ones inside.”

“Hyung, that’s genius.” Yunho smiles, high-fiving the oldest.

“I’ll go,” San volunteers. He hears the others started to protest, but he stops them. “I have the best pronunciation out of all of us. I won’t mess up.”

“Okay, then I’ll protect you,” Wooyoung speaks up.

San opens his mouth to complain, but Wooyoung cuts him off. “If we’re going to die, then at least we’ll die together. You ready?”

San nods with a small frown, and Jongho hands him his father’s journal. The Woosan couple then leave, making sure to stay hidden, and soon arrive at the building. The other five wait. They soon hear the speakers go off, and San’s voice over the intercom. He starts exorcising the demons, and they all hear the demons yell and groan in protest, but they soon go back to hell.

“Great job, San,” Mingi mutters, all of them getting up. They walk inside, seeing only six demons. They're outnumbered, but they're sure they're going to win.

“We’ll defeat them,” Jongho says.

Jongho spoke too soon. They only manage to kill two, whilst the other four happen to know the seven were going to be there. They fight, but in the end, the demons hold their hands behind their backs, starting to lead them somewhere. They end up in an abandoned restaurant and are tied to chairs. They all pray San and Wooyoung would come up with a plan to save them.

“Look who we have, boss,” one of the demons speaks up.

A raven-haired male—probably demon—turns around, a smirk on his face once he recognizes the five hunters. “Ah, I’m glad I finally got to meet four of you in person. How have you all been?”

“W-where’s Yeosang, Taehyung?” Jongho demands.

“Getting straight to business, I see.” Taehyung hums. “Oh, he’s in the back chugging demon blood. You know, he’s become addicted to that stuff.”

Hongjoong lets out a gasp. “Y-you’re planning on…turning him into a demon.”

“Finally,” Taehyung says. “I thought I was going to have to explain it to all of you.”

“Let him go,” Jongho orders. “He’s done nothing wrong.”

“He’s already killed a few people, Jongho,” Taehyung says, bending down a little to see Jongho in the eye. “Do you still think he’s done nothing wrong?”

“You’re lying,” Seonghwa accuses. “Yeosang wouldn’t do that.”

“And how would you know?” Taehyung asks pointedly. “You’ve never met the guy.”

“I’ve heard how he is from Jongho,” Seonghwa explains. “Yeosang’s done nothing wrong, Taehyung.”

“He will soon,” he counters. Taehyung turns toward the other demons. “Bring Yeosang in.” The demons nod before they leave. They come back with a male, but this isn’t the Yeosang Jongho knows and fell in love with. This Yeosang is much paler, his eyes are dull, his hair is an almost white color, instead of that full of life blonde, and his mouth is covered in blood. “Now, is _this_ the Yeosang you know?” 

“Yeosang,” Jongho calls out, ignoring Taehyung. “Yeosang, come on, pay attention to me.”

Yeosang looks up, locking eyes with Jongho. “Oh, hey, Jongho. Where’s my bratty sister?”

“Yeosang, we both know she’s not a brat,” the younger says. 

“Shut up.” Yeosang’s eyes turn darker, but they don’t turn black like a demon’s. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Please, Yeosang, listen to me,” Jongho pleads. “This isn’t who you are.”

“That’s enough,” Taehyung speaks up, shutting Jongho up. “Yeosang, are you ready?”

“Yes, master,” the blonde replies.

“Yeosang!”

-

“They were captured,” San immediately says once he and Wooyoung walk out of the building they were in. 

“How do you know?” the younger asks.

“Everything’s silent,” San explains. “If it wasn’t, they would’ve won, and already rescued Yeosang. They’re in trouble, Wooyoung.”

“We need help, then,” he realizes. “Do you have Jimin’s number?”

San nods, taking his phone out. He and Wooyoung hide by a bush nearby, and San calls Jimin. It takes a few seconds, but the bluenette soon answers.

“Hello?” He sounds confused. “Who is this?”

“It’s me, Choi San,” he replies. “Jimin, we need help. The others were captured, and we don’t know how many demons there are.”

“I can’t leave Byeol,” Jimin reminds. 

“Bring her along, then,” Wooyoung says. “We’ll leave her in the car with one of the hunters. Can you come help us?”

They hear Jimin sigh before he nods. “Yeah. I’m sure I can gather around twenty hunters. Is that enough?”

“More than enough, but we’ll need all the help we can get,” San replies. “Thanks, Jimin. See you soon.” He hangs up, running his fingers through his black and red hair. “I hope they’re still alive.”

“I’m sure they are, Sannie,” Wooyoung assures.

\--

Around twenty minutes later, around four trucks come up. San and Wooyoung recognize Byeol and Jimin in one of them, and Jimin says a few things to Byeol and one of the hunters that are in the truck with them, before getting out. All the twenty hunters walk up to San and Wooyoung.

“What are we dealing with here?” Jimin asks.

“The man with the yellow eyes,” San answers. “He’s in there, along with who knows how many demons. They’re holding Hongjoong-hyung, Seonghwa-hyung, Yunho, Mingi, and Jongho captive. We don’t…we don’t know if they’re still alive.”

Jimin nods, and he turns toward the other hunters. They all motion something, but San and Wooyoung know what that means: they're going to ambush them. They all separate into three groups. Jimin, San, and Wooyoung are all in one group, and their group is the one that ambushes the demons. They all have their weapons with them, walking toward the entrance of the restaurant.

“Now, the other day Seokjin visited me, and he gave me these,” Jimin whispers, holding a light golden bullet. “These kill demons.”

“How many of those bullets do you have?” Wooyoung asks.

“Seokjin gave me fifty,” Jimin replies. 

“How many have you used?” San says.

“Zero.”

San and Wooyoung nod. Fifty is more than enough, but they're probably going to need as many bullets as they can get. Jimin helps them put some bullets in their guns, motions something a few seconds later, and they all storm inside. They start shooting at demons, killing them. Taehyung totally wasn’t expecting this, a bit surprised, but he doesn’t move from his spot. Wooyoung hits a familiar demon, and she falls to the floor. The only demons that are left now are Yeosang and Taehyung.

“Nice of you five to join us,” the ravenette says, smugly. “Thank you for killing my minions, by the way. I would’ve done it myself, but I was a bit busy.”

“Shut up,” Wooyoung orders, aiming his gun at Taehyung. 

“Shoot me, Jung,” he taunts. “Shoot me. See what happens.” Wooyoung doesn’t need to hesitate, before he pulls on the trigger, hitting Taehyung right in the heart. His vessel shakes a bit, turning yellow, so you can see his vessel’s bones on his shoulder, but that's it. The wound =closes up, and Wooyoung is thrown to the wall, San crying out for him. “I wouldn’t,” he warns, as he sees San wanting to go to Wooyoung’s aid.

“What do you want, Taehyung?” Jimin asks, still not lowering his gun. “Power? The world?”

“Yes, but I want all of you pesky hunters dead first,” Taehyung replies.

“We won’t give up that easy,” Hongjoong scoffs. 

“You know, a snap of my fingers, and you’re all dead,” Taehyung threatens, his eyes turning yellow.

“Then why don’t you do it?” San taunts, a few tears rolling down his face. “Are you stalling? What are you waiting for, Taehyung? _Kill us.”_

“I will,” the demon promises. “And I’ll start with your boyfriend first.”

“Start with me,” Jongho speaks up. “You were after me first, weren’t you? Kill _me_ , Taehyung. Let the others live.”

“I need you, though,” he says, a small fake pout on his face. “I’ll let _you_ live, but kill the rest. How does that sound?”

“Not if we kill you first,” Jimin mutters, before pulling the trigger. He hits Taehyung many times, all over his body: his shoulder, legs, knees, chest, stomach, head, and heart.

But does Taehyung die?

No.

“Nice try,” he smirks, his bullet wounds closing up. “Those pesky bullets Seokjin gave you won’t kill me. They work for original demons. I ain’t an OG. I’m special.”

“Keep telling yourself that,” Seonghwa grumbles.

“You want to talk, pretty boy?” Taehyung snaps. “I’ll make you talk.” He pulls his fingers into a fist, Seonghwa letting out a groan. The others call out for him, but they can’t move from their spots. Seonghwa bends forwards, blood spilling out of his mouth. 

“Stop!” Jongho yells, tears in his eyes. “Please!” Taehyung lets out a huff, dropping his hand to the side. The others let out a sigh of relief, Seonghwa coughing out some more blood. Taehyung’s lips curl into a small smirk, and he turns back around. He and Yeosang talk for a few before Yeosang turns toward the others. “Yeosang, you have to listen to me please,” he pleads. “Think about what you’re about to do. Think of Byeol. How do you think she’s going to feel? Come on, Yeosang, break out of it.”

Yeosang gives Jongho a sharp look. “I do whatever I want now. I don’t care about this Byeol anymore.”

“Yes, you do,” Jongho insists. “She’s your little sister. Don’t you want her to have a good future, Yeosang? What type of big brother are you? If I were you, I would want my little sister to have the best life. Better than my life, anyway.”

“Shut. Up.”

“Jongho, using Byeol isn’t working,” Yunho whispers. “Maybe try using yourself.”

Jongho wants to ask how that'll work, but they don’t have time. “Yeosang, listen to me. Ever since I first met you, when you warned me about my death, I…I thought you were probably the most beautiful person I’ve met in my life. And I’ve met a lot of people. But the more I got to know you the more I fell for you. Kang Yeosang, I…I fell in love with you. I don’t know if you feel the same way, but…please…if you do, _please_ break out of this. We can be together, and live a happy life with Byeol. Come on, Yeosang.”

Something stirs inside the blonde. Yeosang's insides feel weird again, and his body tells him to fight back, but his heart and mind tell him not to. _Kang Yeosang, I…I fell in love with you._ Those words keep running through his mind. Yeosang lets out a groan, and he suddenly falls to his knees. Taehyung is a bit concerned and surprised, but he doesn’t do anything. Yeosang lets out a groan of pain, and he feels his heart beating against his chest again. His skin turns back to its original color, his lips have life in them again, and his hair turns into that full of life color. 

The original Yeosang us back.

But the only thing different about him is that…he still has demon blood inside of him.

“J-Jongho?” Yeosang seems surprised to see the younger. “W-what happened?”

“No!” Taehyung yells. “This wasn’t supposed to happen!” The demon heads for Yeosang, but he's shot multiple times. A sudden rush surges through Yeosang, and he looks at Taehyung, lifting his hand. Taehyung struggles against his words, and he's lifted against the wall. Taehyung can’t talk, but it's obvious he's trying to get out. 

“You’re not getting away,” Yeosang chuckles, twisting his hand. Blood starts flowing out of his nose, but Yeosang stays concentrated. Soon, Taehyung’s vessel glows yellow, his whole skeleton showing before the vessel drops to the ground.

Taehyung is dead.

“Y-you did it!” Hongjoong cheers. “Y-Yeosang, you did it!”

The blonde smiles faintly, starting to feel weak. He collapses to the ground, but Jimin quickly catches him, before he can hit the ground. San unties the others’ hands before he goes to Wooyoung’s aid. He checks the younger’s pulse, and sighs in relief once he felt it beating.

“Wooyoung’s alive,” he announces.

“That’s a relief,” Seonghwa mutters. He and San drape their arms around Wooyoung’s shoulders, picking him up. They start dragging him toward Seonghwa’s car, Jimin calling out that the hunter with Byeol is a medic.

“What was that?” Jimin asks.

“Demon blood,” Jongho explains. “Demon blood gives you powers, and Yeosang was chugging pints of it. He was able to kill Taehyung, so that’s the only good part. Guys, if we don’t get the demon blood out of Yeosang, he might actually change into a demon.”

“I have a panic room in my house that is full of salt, iron, and a demon trap,” Jimin says. “Will that help?”

“Hopefully,” Jongho mutters, picking Yeosang up bridal style.

They all walk outside, heading toward their cars. They see Wooyoung getting treated, conscious now, with San by his side. Seonghwa is talking with Byeol, distracting her, so Jongho quickly puts Yeosang in the car.

“Well, we made it out alive,” Yunho announces. “Thankfully.”

“Great job, everyone,” Mingi praises.

\--

The next time Yeosang wakes up is three days later. He wakes up in a strange room, a demon trap looking back at him. The room he's in looks like a panic room, so he figures he's in there. A door suddenly opens, and he looks toward the door, relieved to see Jongho coming in.

“Hey,” Yeosang greets, surprising Jongho.

“You’re awake,” he notes. “Thank god. I thought you were dying on us.”

Yeosang smiles. “I would never. Where’s Byeol?”

“She’s inside,” Jongho replies. “How are you feeling?”

“Fine,” Yeosang says. “Do I…do I still have demon blood in me?”

“We don’t think so,” Jongho says. “But the good news is you were able to kill Taehyung.”

“I know,” Yeosang says. “I remember.”

“What…what else do you remember?” Jongho hesitantly asks.

“Everything,” Yeosang says, a blush dusting his cheeks. “E-even the part where you confessed your love for me.”

“I did not,” Jongho denies. “I said I fell in love with you. I didn’t say I loved you.”

“Same thing,” Yeosang chuckles. Jongho shakes his head playfully, looking away from Yeosang. The blonde smiles at the younger’s shyness, and grabs his hand, making Jongho look at him. “If it helps…” he starts, “…I think I’m in love with you, too, Jongho.”

The younger looks at Yeosang in surprise. “W-what?” 

The blonde lets out a shy smile, and he stands up, even though he's a bit dizzy to do so, but Jongho holds his arms. “I’m in love with you, too, Choi Jongho.”

The male smiles, and he hesitates before he brings Yeosang’s lips into a kiss. The blonde smiles into the kiss and wraps his arms around Jongho’s neck. The younger does the same to Yeosang’s waist, pulling their bodies together. Their lips fit perfectly together, and they enjoy the feeling of finally having their lips on each others’. They soon pull away, resting their foreheads together.

“I’m glad you like me, too, Yeosang,” Jongho whispers, looking into the blonde’s eyes.

Yeosang looks back at him. “Me, too. Wanna be my boyfriend?”

Jongho nods, locking their lips together again.

In the end, Yeosang ends up getting all the demon blood out of him, he slowly stops having visions, he's in a happy relationship with Jongho, Byeol and the others are ecstatic when they find out about their relationship—Hongjoong and Seonghwa even plan on starting to plan Yeosang’s and Jongho’s wedding—and in the end, they live happily ever after.

Well, as happily as they can with monsters trailing their asses, but they're still happy.

**Author's Note:**

> title: ateez’s “stay”


End file.
